The secret US abduction of a suspected terrorist from his Middle East homeland leads to a wave of terrorist attacks in New York. An FBI senior agent and his team attempt to locate and decommission the enemy cells, but must also deal with an Army General gone rogue and a female CIA agent of uncertain loyalties.
Acting
Denzel's righteous fury vs. Willis's cold authoritarian turn.
Writing
Lawrence Wright's eerily prescient terrorism script, pre-9/11.
Direction
Zwick's chaotic energy mirroring institutional breakdown.
Director
Edward Zwick
Denzel Washington
Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
Annette Bening
Elise Kraft / Sharon Bridger
Bruce Willis
Major-General William Devereaux
Tony Shalhoub
Agent Frank Haddad
Sami Bouajila
Samir Nazhde
Aasif Mandvi
Khalil Saleh
Mark Valley
FBI Agent Mike Johanssen
Jack Gwaltney
Fred Darius
David Proval
Danny Sussman
Lance Reddick
FBI Agent Floyd Rose
Wood Harris
Officer Henderson
David Costabile
Fingerprint Expert
Said Faraj
Sleeper terrorist
Chip Zien
Chief of Staff
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released three years before 9/11, Arab-American groups protested its stereotyping. Zwick later admitted the film became 'uncomfortably prophetic.'
Screenwriter Lawrence Wright won a Pulitzer for The Looming Tower, his non-fiction account of Al-Qaeda's rise—making this essentially his rough draft.
US
