Violence, guns, thrills, and a bit of humor...these are the key ingredients of the recipe for a blockbuster action movie in theatres. Yes, in theaters, even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Infidel, a hard-hitting 2020 film starring Jim Caviezel includes all of these elements and much more. The Google synopsis is: "A desperate woman tries to save her husband after he's kidnapped and put on trial for espionage in Iran." However, the movie is much more complex than this, as it touches on controversial topics, gives each character a deep background, and dramatizes real-life scenarios. Inspired by true events, Infidel digs into religion, ethnicity, family, love, sacrifice, and corruption. Set in the present, Doug is a Christian journalist and blogger who gets wrapped into the personal life of his friend and coworker Javid. Javid's daughter goes missing and Doug finds out that Javid is not what he appears to be. Attending a conference in Cairo, Egypt, Doug finds himself preaching on television about Christianity to millions of offended Muslim viewers and, as a result, he is kidnapped and taken to Lebanon not even 24 hours later. The film details the role of Iran and its proxy, terrorist group Hezbollah in Doug's kidnapping, follows Doug's tortured experience as a prisoner, and effectively portrays the emotional suffering of Doug's wife Liz (Claudia Carvan).

The movie begins with a vulnerable and terrifying scene that puts the audience on the edges of their seats. Doug is against a wall facing down a firing squad ready to slaughter him if he doesn't obey them and say the words they demand. He is in Iran and a man tells him, "We're not afraid to die, that's why we're going to win." Doug replies, "I'm not afraid either." This scene is chronologically later in the film so, with the sound of gunshots going off, the film cuts to the past, to the actual starting point of the movie, and the audience is left almost certain that Doug will eventually die up against that wall in Iran. Starting in Virginia, Infidel shows daily life for Doug and Liz and their relationship with Javid (Aly Kassem) and his family. At Javid's daughter Meena's graduation party, it's clear that Javid and Liz are not close friends and really don't like each other much. Javid calls Liz an 'infidel' and they don't have much dialogue other than that. Most noteworthy, Meena appears to have too much fun at her party, especially when dancing with a white, non-Muslim, rebellious boy to rock music. The camera focuses on Javid fuming.

The pace of the film speeds up from here. Javid's wife Shadya, worried all night about Meena never coming home after leaving the party with the rebellious non-Muslim boy, calls Liz in a panic while the audience is treated to the omniscient view of Javid menacing a tied-up and gagged Meena, preparing to engage in a so-called "honor killing" in a secret room in his house. Shadya called Liz yet again, so Liz called the police, then she and Doug drove right over there. Doug is escorted into the house and the police show him Javid's secret room, where Doug discovers that Javid is a member of and key recruiter for the terrorist group Hezbollah. This sets the stage for later revenge by Javid and these scenes are crucial, as they not only give the movie a human, realistic feel, they provide background of Doug's character and his kidnapping in Cairo for the religious conference. Importantly, Doug's Christian faith is a major part of his character and he stays strong in his beliefs through beatings, threats, and fears he experiences.

Regarding the production of the film, it was well-done...for the most part. The costumes, hair, and makeup were fantastic and the set decoration felt authentic. The scenes were well executed and, although this may not be a Hollywood movie, it obviously had a large enough budget for quality moviemaking. The camerawork stuck out to me because there were many slightly tilted, close-up angles on characters...a technique that I never noticed in movies before. As for the acting, one performance stands above the rest. Hal Ozsan's character Ramzi is the one seemingly in charge of the kidnapping and treatment of Doug. Ramzi's humor and actions toward Doug make the kidnapping more complex than the typical, overused trope. When Doug is first kidnapped and brought to a home in Lebanon, Ramzi brings Doug a laptop and says he will be the "first person to ever blog about Christianity from a Muslim cell." He gives Doug this small freedom to make things more interesting. Later, Ramzi shares a tasty cup of tea with Doug and relays a short backstory of his life, describing an early memory as a child running down the street with his mother and having things thrown at him, being told to go back to his country. At times, he is the typical threatening and ruthless bad guy, but he is also human, humorous, and caring at times. Ozsan plays this very well. Finally, the grand finale and ending were not only polished, but action-packed and interesting. Israeli intelligence agents help Doug escape captivity and get him and Liz back to the United States unharmed.

Every aspect of the film, however, is not five-star worthy. The character of Doug's wife Liz, played by Claudia Carvan, was poorly drawn, as her actions were careless, reckless, and unrealistic. Liz wants to try and save Doug, and even goes to Iran to do it herself, but some of the things she does clearly make the situation worse. For example, Liz gets a picture of Doug from a prison guard who wants to help her and rebel against his country, but she uses the picture to make missing posters and puts these up around Iran. Obviously, this gets the attention of Ramzi. Also, Carvan's acting is subpar and not as genuine or as lively as the others. Really the only likable part about Liz is her backstory that draws a parallel to her husband's deep religious beliefs. She turns her back on God after losing her unborn child in a car accident. The duality of her not being religious and them not having children makes Liz more aware of what Doug is doing by preaching to Muslims and by leaving for a foreign country after Javid's daughter goes missing, while Doug is almost blinded by his faith in God and in humanity.

A scene that was both well-done and, to me, controversial, was the meeting between Dr. Hossein Tehrani (Bijan Daneshmand) and Liz when she first lands in Iran and he explains to the Iranian press that Doug's kidnapping is horrible, but his government will ensure that Doug isn't a spy. He goes on to explain how important justice is to Iran. While he talks so highly of the Iranian government and of mercy, the camera cuts to Doug being beaten in his cell. I think the duality of Dr. Hossein's speech and Doug's abuse is an emotionally moving film tactic, but it can be hard to handle. As someone who doesn't know much about terrorists and America's relationship with Middle-Eastern countries such as Iran, it felt like the movie was being biased and insinuating that the whole country of Iran and all of its people are violent and corrupt. However, I think the intention was to show how corrupt the government is, and not the people themselves. The film portrays good characters, such as a Christian family who supports Liz and who points her to the prison guard willing to help her and Doug, and the reporters who turn out to be undercover Israeli intelligence agents that look out for her safety. The point isn't to be incendiary and controversial, although I can see how it could appear that way to some people. Infidel furthers the point of exposing corruption in the Iranian government through conversations between Dr. Hossein and Ramzi, as well as a show trial with fake evidence and lying witnesses, including Javid.

All in all, I give this movie 7.5/10. It's pretty darn good and not bad at all, but I prefer horror or comedy pictures over action-thrillers, and this is not the best action-thriller that I've ever seen. Also, if you don't care much for religion or are not open-minded about religion, I wouldn't recommend that you see this movie. Furthermore, I feel obligated to deduct points because it's possibly controversial. I believe that releasing this movie in 2020 was both a smart and bad move. With everything going on in our country, the last thing we need is a movie about terrorists, as if news, politics, and violence aren't bad enough right now. And cancel-culture has grown into such a social norm that I can easily see this movie being "canceled" for being Islamophobic or for pushing some sort of underlying political agenda. On the other hand, I feel like it demonstrates genuine concern and care for those that are still being held captive in Iran to this day and it shows that the government of Iran is corrupt and in need of change. Like an investigative journalism piece, it leaves the consumer feeling bittersweet, enlightened by the exposure of horrible crimes and corruption, but simultaneously upset these things are really happening in our world.