Rendition

We rented Rendition over the weekend on the recommendation of a friend. I don't feel like I wasted five bucks, but I feel like I could have spent the money better.
The movie had a number of problems:

• Meryl Streep's character was too cynical to be believable.


• Jake Gyllenhaal


• Reese Witherspoon's character was too earnest. Don't even get me started on the fact that she was pregnant also.


• The time phased love subplot was disconnected from the main action of the movie.

To sum it up: The movie was two movies. One was a trope about the out of control US security agencies in the age of Terror. This one was populated by transparently stock characters. They are either boring or over the top.
The second movie, which could have been a good movie, is a mystery about a father trying to solve a crime and find his daughter. The character's in this movie were sympathetic and interesting. If it had been pull away from the sad "message: movie and allowed to stand on its own two feet, this movie would have been an excellent movie.
Sadly, it was not.