Mabel Munoz Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

dansview Propagandist garbage. What a colossal bore. By the way, who said that Wall Street is the American dream? Did this brainy immigrant ever visit Iowa and ask them what their American dream is? Perhaps owning a farm and loving Jesus is it.He already admitted that he understands what makes America great. He said it in his interview. I'll give credit to the writers or filmmakers for that. He explains that America will give a talented guy like him an equal opportunity to succeed. Which it did.But the rest of the film is about denigrating capitalism, and championing Third World pride. OK. Some Americans mistook him for a terrorist. That's unfortunate, but not worth giving up his American dream.The pacing was ridiculously slow. The manipulative sympathy-pandering was insulting. Who asked this guy to come to America, and who told his country to be a Third World embarrassment? It is what it is.I'm so sick of self-righteous movie propaganda. Talk about stacking the deck. Of all the American girlfriends to get, he finds one who bases an entire photography gallery exhibit on his ethnic identity, and treats it like a cartoon. What are the odd of that? But it certainly fits into the intention of demonizing Americans.The lead foreign guy was good. His demeanor and facial expressions seemed to convey true soul and feeling. You felt his pain and confusion. Why use Liev Schreiber? A Jewish guy in Pakistan? Of all the actors.The opening was good. I didn't know what exactly was going on, but the music was great. It shows a traditional Pakistani party setting, with emotional crooner music highlighted.You will appreciate Kate Hudson as a slightly beefy, serious underdog. I've never seen her in anything other than romantic comedies.The Kiefer Sutherland character is portrayed as some kind of capitalist demon. Some credit is due to the makers for having his character tell about his upbringing and longing for financial stability.The bottom line is that this film slams you over the head with a socio-cultural, political point of view. Americans are ignorant of the beautiful nuances of Third World culture. Brown skin and primitive beliefs are ultimately cooler than modern Western culture. Americans think everyone from a Muslim country takes his commands from the Koran.Avoid this pathetic snooze-fest, or steer your friends away.

ChaosStar I had to study the Reluctant Fundamentalist for my year 12 English class two years ago and was captivated by the vision the novel had, so many flaws one country has under the banner of what is labeled 'freedom', 'patriosim' and 'fairness' and the novel exposed the underlying idea of what the world truly is or what it could be and what it was, all wrapped in a cat and mouse game between two people we really do not know about. Sadly, the transition between the book to the film was poorly executed and underhanded. The racial views and the full scope of the reality that is our history is made redundant or not capitalized on. What was disappointing was the game of cat and mouse, the mystery between the unknown American and Changez was changed to appeal to more action hungry viewers, like a weak Bourne Identity film which was just very sad as Ahmed and Schreiber would have really made a tense conversation that can border on threatening if handled in the right hands. In the movie, we have a typical, hostage like scenario where a slight mystery to each factions purposes.I was quite disappointed but I got through to the end. I award TRF a 5/10

Gordon-11 This film tells the story of a young man who works at Wall Street as a successful analyst, but his bright future is marred by his Pakistani roots amidst of a turbulent political background."The Reluctant Fundamentalist" has two story lines, one in the present Pakistan, the other the reminisced pursuance of the American dream. They are both powerful stories, engaging and thought provoking. Changez's experience in New York after the attack is very sad, as the country descends into high alert. We see his daily encounter with hate and discrimination, and this drives bright, hard working and honest individuals like Changez's to leave America. He goes back to Pakistan to pursue a Pakistani dream, but his American past still haunts him. The ending hopefully stimulates people's thoughts in this highly emotionally charged subject, as people are prone to be clouded by their emotions when making judgements."The Reluctant Fundamentalist" tells the other side of the story in an engaging manner. I certainly sympathise with Changez, and hope his story will not be repeated in the future.

RealDuality The Reluctant Fundamentalist is one of those films everyone should see. The main character is a Pakistani who goes to an Ivy League University in the United States and then moves on to a corporate life in New York City prior to 9/11. He grew-up wanting to be an American, but he suddenly finds himself being viewed as an enemy after the Twin Towers are struck.The struggle that he undergoes is an analogy for Pakistan. He wants the American dream; however, it won't have him as he is, represented through a seemingly doomed relationship and the alienation he undergoes at work. He is young, and hasn't yet found his truth. His journey to finding it is the underlying drive of the film.The Reluctant Fundamentalist captures the modern world, but there is a couple drawbacks. Kate Hudson is miscast. She is too old for the role, and isn't quite capable of handling the character's strong emotions. Though, it doesn't help that her romance doesn't take the full course that it does in the book. The rest of the cast is outstanding. Riz Ahmed handles the protagonist with dignity and grace, Kiefer Sutherland portrays an Executive roughly without overdoing it, and Liev Schreiber represents the audience's gaze with the proper dichotomy. In Liev's final scene, he expresses the exact same feelings I had when finishing the novel.