Clichéd Thriller - fun but not great

Rating: 7/10 (29 September 2016)

I can't say this is a bad movie. The acting was great, the story was engaging, the cinematography visually striking. But I guess the Oscars attest to that.
What I didn't like about this film was that it pretty much resembled any other clichéd Hollywood film. The Americans were the heroic characters, while the Muslims were not that sympathetic; it involved "last moment" reversals, a character is about to put down the phone when he finally gets a connection, the characters are about to board a plane in the last moment before getting captured - this can be seen in any other American thriller; enter Tony Mendez, your all- American 007, he is muscular and manly, he is white and charming, he is divorced, and has a cute blonde young son, he is ready to sacrifice his life for the good of the American people, and he is rewarded for his actions but not publicly, he is the unsung hero, the silent guardian; the music was generic and only used to pump up certain emotional moments; the film follows an old and over-used story arc: the reluctant hero goes on a suicide mission, but before completing the mission his boss calls it off (because hierarchy), but the hero goes against the orders and succeeds nonetheless - how many times have we seen in an American film the detective/spy/agent being told "they should not pursue the case" by their dominant boss, but they do it anyway.
I find these moments cringe-worthy, predictable, sensationalized. But the film is fun, very engaging and interesting. But that does not change the fact that this film possess only entertainment value, and it certainly isn't the piece of art or the political satire it is said to be.