When Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is picked up by the American government and flown to a torturous prison in Africa following an explosion by an extremist group, CIA agent Douglas Freeman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is assigned to get information from him.
But Anwar's wife Isabella (Reese Witherspoon) with the help of the aid of a Senator (Peter Sarsgaard) refuses to let the government get away with their unethical capture.

'Is one person's live worth the life of thousands?' is the unsubtle question behind this two hour examination of the United States' take on terrorism policies.
But with a confused narrative that tries to paint government officials, elected representatives and foreign officers as the bad elements, and religious extremists with far less severity, the overall 'point' becomes a little muddled.

A stella cast – comprising of more Oscar winners and nominees than you can shake a stick at – adds a desperately needed quality to the film.
But frustratingly they are not nearly used as well as could be hoped.

Despite Gyllenhaal's undisputed flexibility as an actor, Hood falls back on stereotypical acts of decadence to show Douglas' disdain at the situation, rather than allowing the Jarhead star to flex some acting muscles and really hit out.

This is not to say there aren't some impressive scenes. Emotional outbursts permeate throughout the film with all the big names clearly trying to act their socks off – possibly in the hopes of a little gold statue.

But it is doubtful that this mostly disjointed drama will reach the attention of the Academy Awards with the stars desperately trying to show their talent by merely shouting.

With the constant flicking between the fragmented characters and their individual problems and issues, Hood sadly loses focus, and a relatively closure free finale makes it hard to find the point in the film.

Rendition is certainly an interesting film, but the lack of balance in treating numerous plot strands makes repeated viewings doubtful.

7/10 – Great concept badly executed, but still worth a watch.