Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

muons The movie starts with a bang and the tension mounts with the open mike incidence at the UN center. Then, a lull phase kicks in with lots of fluffy subplots including background check, lie detector test, family history which drag it on and on. Those are perhaps needed for character development but could have been made more interesting. The tempo picks up after Silvia is put under 24 hr surveillance and with the ensuing events. Good acting from S. Penn and N. Kidman although she physically looks too soft and delicate for what she went through in her childhood and young adult years. The plot is sort of predictable but with good acting and directing, the movie is still enjoyable if you ignore the utterly puerile finale.

nicolecrewnm If only the editor and script supervisor got together with hair and make up, I might've been able to stay in the story, but every 30 sec Nicole Kidman's hair changed. No idea how professionals could not notice this or care.

sddavis63 The basic story has Nicole Kidman as an interpreter at the UN who accidentally overhears a conversation in which there's a threat to kill a tyrannical African dictator when he visits the UN in the near future. This presumably puts Silvia (the interpreter) at risk, as she's now targeted by those plotting to assassinate the guy. The problem is that, aside from a couple of scenes, I never really got sense of her being at risk. This really turned into a long, drawn-out disappointment - completely lacking in excitement, filled with ridiculous plot points and with a convoluted script that I guess is supposed to give you reason to doubt Silvia and to have some uncertainty as to what's going to happen. Unfortunately, there was really no surprise about the ending. It was the definition of an anti-climax, and the fact that (at the very end) Silvia was simply freed (albeit awaiting being deported) after pointing a gun to the head of the African dictator (no matter how ruthless he is?) Well, that's one of those ridiculous plot points. The story is lacking - it lacks both logic and punch. There was nothing here to draw me in and to make me care, although the handful of opening scenes, set in Africa and making clear the nature of the regime in question, tried hard to do that.Story aside (although it's a very big aside when the story's weak) Kidman and her co-star Sean Penn (as Secret Service agent Tobin Keller) tried hard. Their performances were fine. There's nothing much to criticize about them. I thought the backstory about Keller's personal life and recent tragedy was a little extraneous. I will say that I did appreciate that, while Silvia and Keller obviously develop an emotional bond as the movie progresses, there was no effort to include a romance between them. That would have been just too cliché.If anything, the various twists and turns in the story almost make it seem that someone was trying too hard to craft a political thriller - so hard that they forgot to include the thrills! (3/10)

kalibeans The reason I gave this movie a higher rating than most is because I feel Kidman and Penn did an outstanding job with their parts. I have the same problem with the script as everyone else, it was not believable in so many parts. But it's actually one of my favorite Kidman roles. I think she did a wonderful job with Silvia, better even than The Hours performance that garnered her the Oscar. It's an enjoyable movie, well shot. Pollack always does a good job with that. He was gone too soon. The supporting characters, both the ones that played Americans and the Africans gave good performances as well, especially Keener. Another added plus was the filming being done inside the actual UN building. I always consider it a plus when directors care enough to take the time and expense to shoot on location instead of totally in a studio. It adds to the fiber of a film. Well worth a watch!!