The War Within

Of all the feature films and documentaries to emerge since 9/11, few have been as bold, perceptive or as downright chilling as this thriller.

It's thanks to Akhtar's standout performance that The War Within is as electrifying as it is.

A portrait of a mild-mannered zealot, one that seeps under the skin and unsettles the nerves.

Hampered by a mopey leading man.

Tries too hard to be even-handed.

Mired in noir cliché, the movie manages to be simultaneously overwrought and undercooked, with the Bambi-eyed Akhtar giving such a relentlessly inscrutable performance, one wants to poke him with a stick.

Does a fairly good job of laying out the basic political motives behind Islamic terrorism. Unfortunately, as a drama, it has its narrative peak in the middle and quickly runs out of story afterward.