Rendition Torture to Sit Through

Rendition, the story of an American woman's search for her arrested Egyptian-born husband, is a well-meaning but ultimately shallow exploration of America's policies on torture, critics say. "Rendition tackles the concern in a heavy-handed thriller with simplistic characters and manipulative storylines," says the Hollywood Reporter.

The would-be thriller, which features Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, and Alan Arkin, "manages to take an urgent, important topic and turn it into standard Hollywood melodrama" writes Newsweek's David Ansen, adding, "What a waste." Although some critics praise the film's powerhouse performances and bold subject matter, most agree Rendition "has the depth of a bumper sticker," as the New York Post puts it, "without the brevity." (More Reese Witherspoon stories.)