MattGUK's reviews

From a Western perspective this was an odd one, Chinese protagonist with the West portrayed as the bad guys(or at least the opposition) for the bulk of the movie.

Yet as an autistic individual, the protagonist was at least autistic-coded and relatable, missing a lot of social cues but honourable.

The main Western character wasn't portrayed as evil per se though the portrayal was still a bit odd. Exile fleeing occupied Poland, winds up in China having picked up native-level US-English along the way. OK, right fine.

And er...major goof..."I am the Walrus" had not been released in 1964 yet it still gets referenced heavilly.

Still, what felt like a "scraping the bottom of the barrel" cinema trip still worked out with the main conflict portrayed as a brutal chess match between friends turned rivals.

This was an interesting film! Let's face it, we've all lived through the decade this film depicts! It pulled no punches. Let's face it, it showed the supposed good guys torturing people! Yet the people they were torturing were the scum of the Earth and would want to kill every one of us! I'd want to beat up some of those torture victims myself and I'm generally not a violent person.

I have no idea how accurate it was in depicting Pakistani life and if it was off-base then I'm sorry for the Pakistani guy who commented earlier.

This film is gritty and it is ugly. Yes there were some moral issues it didn't touch on. Speaking as a Westerner there are some ugly actions of my government that I refuse to take responsibility for. By and large though, I am prepared to believe most of what was in this film! I wasn't always that impressed with Maya but I tried not to see it as a character piece.

This film isn't a classic but it is worth watching!

1. Either I'm at right angles to the rest of the world(knowing me, that's a possibility;)) or the characterisation of this was actually pretty good. With all due respect to iceman Jack Bauer, good guys who are not all-out professional are easier to relate to IMO.

2. As for the jihadis, well at one extreme there was Kaz who I wanted to get blown up by his own bomb in the middle of nowhere. So mate, why do you want to take part in mass murder? You feel you have to prove your manhood? What a sicko.

At the other end of the scale was the Egyptian doctor guy.

In theory not that bad a person, wants the best for his patients etc etc. Wanted out after the Lagos bomb. Got suckered back to the jihadi cause a bit too easily for my liking though but then again his only target in London were the Arab oilmen who he though were responsible for stonewalling the development of his clinic. Then again he did back up Kaz's efforts in Chicago but he also questioned the younger guy's reasoning. Complicated.

3. Brave gamble by Raeza at the end there but I had a hunch he'd lose it.

4. So Acton was backing up Muhamed's crew yet he's still around? What's that about?

All in all though this was a job well done IMO.