Great European locations are a highlight of this 2012 film, Erased, starring Aaron Eckhart. The film is also known as Ex-Patriate.

Eckhart plays an ex-CIA operative, Ben Logan, working for a European company. His wife is deceased, and he's there with his daughter (Liana Liberato), a typical teenager whose sullen behavior can be attributed to just losing her mother and being uprooted from her home.

Ben is supposed to test security systems made by the company for whom he works, but returning to the office one night, he finds that the entire company has disappeared, including the employees and his entire identity along with them. He soon finds out he's going to be terminated -- and by terminated, like in the ground terminated, so he and his daughter take off. He's determined to find out what's going on.

Shades of the Bourne saga, not as good, but still suspenseful with lots of action. I really like Aaron Eckhart and would love to see him in another leading role. He's very likable and attractive.

Entertaining without being sensational

I recently saw this film just based on its stars, Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurylenko. Having watched it, I wonder why it was not better promoted.

An action/suspense flick, it features Eckhart as a CIA agent whose cover suddenly disappears, putting himself and his daughter (Liana Liberato) in mortal danger. No surprise, it looks like some kind of ruthless cover-up conspiracy. Yes, we've all seen movies like this before, but this is a tense, taut, and well-made suspense movie with very good casting. Eckhart is perfect for his role as the pseudo-good guy; handsome, dapper, chiseled. Kurylenko is also great as Anna, the subtly beautiful and inscrutable former colleague and possibly lover, who has the task of bringing him in, whatever that means. Liana Liberato does a credible job as the estranged daughter who just finds out that her Dad is or was a killer.

The plot moves quickly from story setup to action, and the suspense never lets up from there. While it doesn't quite have the thrills of a 'Bourne' film, it kept me interested. And while you kind of know (or hope) how it will end, it is definitely fun getting there.

It is a good movie that I will probably watch again.

I am a big fan of this genre, a genre that has been almost soaked of its originality, like most thriller i have watched, it didn't surpass the Bourne series but it was a series of clichés that was more comforting than worrying, Aaron Eckhart gives a very good performance as the lead character Ben Logan.

Liana Liberato gives a genuinely good performance as Eckharts estranged daughter Amy, who has been persuaded by Logan to leave her grandfathers custody in America in order to move to Belgium, to be with him.

The film starts off quite slow, but when the credits ran i was very happy with what i had witnessed, a good addition to the thriller genre.

Who's voting here? What do we ask of an action/thriller? 1. Action 2. Suspense that will keep you interested. Hopefully - this can be done intelligently. To do this with intelligence - and good acting - are bonuses. This Film delivered on all these counts. Post-film/editing sometimes don't find the perfect fit and the camera filters/ video are on the dark side (not enough light). Some plot details are muffled along the way but it does not get in the way of the entertainment value. The cast, story, intent and execution - are all there. Emphasis of genre is on "thriller" with some fairly good, fast action scenes that appear professional/credible. Main actors all performed well. Secondaries performances were... secondary. This film will not disappoint.

The Expatriate is a 2012 thriller starring Aaron Eckhart as an ex-CIA operative now stationed in Belgium. This looked like a sleeper hit that didn't get any recognition, and with that premise I started watching it. So far, so good, we got a nice classic setup pretty much similar to Taken and its predecessors as we follow Ben Logan (Aaron) and his rebellious teenage daughter go through one of their usual days. There is something mystical about European-set thrillers that just gets me, those immensely old and well maintained buildings, the cleanliness of the streets and exotic vibe of the people are just so mesmerizing… Ben is now employed by a huge conglomerate Halgate and working for one of their subsidiary companies as a security engineer. His job is to try to get pass security protocols, fool the eye scanners and break into safes, sounds interesting enough. What he doesn't know that there is a huge conspiracy surrounding his employer and that soon he and his daughter will become a subject of a manhunt. Targeted for termination by a company with seemingly unlimited recourses, they only have one choice: get to the bottom of this conspiracy in a hope that it will save their lives. Since this a thriller I don't wanna spoil your viewing experience so this is it as far as plot is concerned.

After he defeated aliens in Battle Los Angeles Aaron seems pretty confident in his role as an bad-ass ex-CIA operative, but this is were the complaints about those little things start. While we later find out that he is trained in combat, he is initially presented as a smarty-geeky engineer so it he must be the worlds deadliest man combining both the brains and the brawn (still, an awesome performance by Aaron). While the main three characters are pretty well developed, the rest of them are cardboard cutouts with only one purpose: to say/do their thing to help the story going forward. It would be nice to see something more elaborate story and character wise, but it seems that the writer only had a general idea with the rest of the story working itself, without much thinking.

In summary, this isn't the best thriller this year, but it sure is a damn fine viewing, especially if you like the genre. With good production values and that sleek look that blockbusters have it will definitely entertain you.

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I personally enjoyed this film despite its many flaws. This is an action movie with enough credible story to hook the viewer and entertain for the duration. The plot is somewhat convoluted and in my opinion hard to follow at times, but despite that, the movie is fast paced with plenty of realist and believable action, so what if you're not certain as to the why this is all unfolding. The ending tries to bring all the whys and wherefores together and I guess it succeeds for the most part. The acting by most was good, but don't expect any Oscar nods for any of this cast. I'm going to cut to the chase, this was a fun movie for viewing, and I would consider it an excellent 5 out of 10 film.

With the aesthetically pleasing cities of Brussells and Antwerp as the back drop, this exciting international thriller opens full throttle and keeps the pulse rate steady throughout. This movie contains all the necessary ingredients for success, including action, suspense, mystery and intrigue. Aaron Eckhart does well in this starring role and is ably assisted by a solid, mostly European cast which only adds authenticity to the movie. While not quite in the same class as "Bourne" or "Taken", it is never the less a strong effort from German born director Phillip Stolzl that will keep fans of this genre more than satisfied. Like a great meal enjoyed in a fine restaurant that lingers in your memories for days afterward, this motion picture sits well on the palate and will be recalled long after the credits have closed.

The expatriate and widower Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) has moved from New York to Anrwep with his estranged teenage daughter Amy Logan (Liana Liberato) to work for the technology corporation Halgate Group. When he breaks a sophisticated security code from a device, he notes that its patent has no record in Halgate and he calls the attention of his boss Derek Kohler (Neil Napier). Ben meets Amy and they do not go home; later Ben goes with Amy to his office and they find it completely empty. Further, all the records of his phone calls, e-mails, payslip and bank account have vanished. Out of the blue, a coworker abducts Ben and Amy in the bank but Ben kills him in self-defense. Ben finds a key from a locker in the Central Station and he finds photos of his daughter, himself and his coworkers. His further investigation shows that all the workers are dead in the morgue except Derek Kohler. Soon Ben discovers a huge conspiracy of Halgate Group relative to illegal arms sales to Africa with the involvement of rogue CIA agents. But Ben is in disgrace with the Agency and does not have any reliable contact to recur.

The unoriginal "Erased", a.k.a."The Expatriate", is an action thriller with a promising and intriguing beginning. Unfortunately the stupid and annoying daughter Amy with her silly attitudes makes any viewer lose the temper. The story has many flaws and holes, but the plot is fast-paced and distracts the viewer that is not aware. For example, the killers kill a lot of residents in Belgium; Ben blows-up the car with important guys; the police is chasing Ben and Amy; and he arrives at the airport dirty and ready to embark to the USA and probably without documents. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Perseguição Implacável" ("Relentless Manhunt")

Erased (2012)

Can we make a new genre here? British/American executive/spy/father gets in trouble in Europe and has to go on the run with corporate/government/counterspy evil everywhere.

I could list some (never mind the great Bourne films, which are extremes of the type). Certainly the "Taken" films (there are three now) are the closest parallel, but even "The International" comes to mind in the same vein. All of these have a sense of fear and darkness about the global order that glooms down on the characters.

And "Erased" is powerfully made, with good claustrophobic and jittery camera-work, believable acting, and a reasonable (if roughly familiar) plot. You get swept up quickly, as Aaron Eckhart juggles a high-security job and a teenage daughter going to private school. Through a quick (a peanut allergy) he avoids an early death and the movie takes off. All along the daughter is both emotional fodder for the feeling side of the film and a bit of a formative action figure (now and then). But it's dad who is really showing his smarts and fighting skills as an ex-CIA man.

Set in beautiful Belgium, the scenes range from those gorgeous old Europe streets and government buildings to the new Europe and high end glass corporate life. And then to the new, growing minority areas where Arabs and other Muslims live. Part of this emphasis might come from the main writer on the story, Arash Amel, who surely paints the division of cultures in a sympathetic way. Director Philip Stolzl is one of the newer generation of German mainstream directors with an eye for sweeping fast visuals and a solid plot ("North Face" is highly recommended). He, perhaps too much like Tom Tykwer, is taking a detour into some well-worn territory here, but showing his chops.

Expect to never be bored, to never know quite what might happen next, and to enjoy the ride kinetically. Even if nothing quite original happens. Ever.

The Expatriate is one film that had the misfortune of having its trailer tell the entire story. Whoever did this promo clip ought to have taken a long hard look at his or her final work, and wonder how it could have been done without revealing too much. Making it worse is the admiration for Taken with the kidnapping of a daughter with the father in high pursuit, which gives the unfair impression that this is a cheap knock off, which it is not.

Written by Arash Amel and directed by German Philipp Stolzl, The Expatriate is almost like a Jason Bourne movie, with lead character Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) exhibiting a particular skillset that surprises his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato), who had gone to Brussels in order to spend some quality Dad time, only for the world as she knows go into a topsy-turvy. They get shot at multiple times by different pursuers, have the cops looking for them, and his dad's co-workers all wind up dead. To make matters worse, they have to discover why they're in someone else's bad books, and have to make it out alive when odds become increasingly stacked against them. But it went from Bourne to Taken with that kidnapping of Amy, though thankfully it was something more of an unnecessary sub-arc just to get Ben to be acting alone in the climax, with the villains using her as a bargaining chip to keep Ben at bay.

In essence, this turned out to be a standard action thriller that involves big bad corporations and covert agencies with sneaky agents who are comfortable out their doing the dirty work for whoever can pay a good price. Not to mention some behind the scenes, under table collaboration and influence that corrupt corporation big wigs have over those in the seat of power, since any campaign requires backing, usually of the financial kind. Here, we see how corporations obtain inside knowledge from those who can be bought, which makes it especially easy when these officials also have a selfish interest to pursue. In The Expatriate, this involves technology, framing, and the need to obtain classified documents so that they can either be altered or destroyed to avoid further implication, especially when something else gains worldwide attention, and further investigation would bring to light many embarrassing points.

Aaron Eckhart remains one of my favourite character actors, but as an action hero, I'm afraid not. The filmmakers tried to cover up using very Bourne techniques of fast edits and quick cuts, but it's too obvious Eckhart is no fighter, and was found a little bit wanting in action scenes. Those that require a little more brains than brawn, highlighting his skill as a black ops engineer, was more believable. And there was a bit on the details gone into assembling a briefcase bomb as well, though not as instructional for obvious reasons. Liana Liberato would likely polarize audiences though, because her character's too whiny, and complains at almost every stage the father-daughter pair find themselves in. Although proving to be useful at times, Liana did her best with the unpopular role of whining for the most parts. And having Olga Kurylenko was nothing more than a coup to have an additional recognizable name on the marquee, her role being pretty small, used to explain some romantic liaisons between Ben and her Anna Brandt, whose loyalty gets severely questioned, and a flip-flopper when it comes to making decisions.

With an ending that depended largely on the bad guys' over-confidence that bordered on arrogance and ignorance, it was a tad too convenient, though one that would leave audiences cheering, as if having watched a feel good film. Production values are top notch for a studio film, with Belgium being used extensively on location to bring about that Europe-chic feel that's fast becoming locations that any self-respective action-thriller must have. Recommend!

Aaron Eckhardt's acting was very good, the story was inventive, effects were great....but no cigar. It is amazing how a movie can have all the ingredients fir a great movie but, all together, they just don't taste that great. For me, I actually wanted the bad guys to keep the annoying, whiny, stupid daughter. It would have been nice if the dad had hauled off and smacked the little smart alec...but ack to the movie. Again, interesting idea. I think maybe Aaron Eckhardt's character needs to e a little more badass to really pull the viewer in. You kept waiting for him to start gently talking about global warming or the benefits of vegan instead of executing cold blooded killers. So close, guys. Decent to rent if you just want to watch something mindless

Overall this was a good solid thriller. A pretty much average employee comes to work one morning to find his office is empty and learns that the company he works for never heard of him or the office in which he worked. Pretty good start to a mystery compounded by a teenage daughter who feels, not unjustly, neglected. Both are abruptly thrust into a life and death situation with bad guys after them and the police are after them too. Most, perhaps all, the exteriors are in Belgium and it's always fun to see European cities by day and by night. Performances were all good. The main hit man was another Banat from "Journey into Fear" and all the bad guys were bad. My single big complaint, unfortunately inserting a spoiler here, is that up until a certain point in the film where we learn Mr. Eckart is an ex-CIA hit-man, he is every inch the humble office worker, completely dumbfounded and barely able to cope with even amateur tough guys. Once we establish his real identity, he becomes 007, McClane and a Terminator all in one, instantly revealing himself to be an extremely resourceful man capable not only of handling himself, but he is very creative. Too bad he couldn't have put some of that to good use early on, but then of course, we would only have had a fifteen minute short.

Before I entered the theaters in Belgium, The Expatriate was an enigma. I couldn't find any reviews or critics about this movie. That's why I'm making a review myself now.

In The Expatriate Aaron Eckhart plays Ben Logan, a security specialist who works for Halgate, a big corporation. He works for the Belgian part of the company, living with his daughter in Antwerp. Throughout the movie we learn that nothing is what it looks like.

The movie is mostly filmed in Belgium,in the big cities Brussels and Antwerp. To me, Belgium gives a very dark and slightly poor impression, aside from the international corporate buildings. That's not exactly true in real life, but it gives a certain feel to the film.

Aaron Eckhart is the lead actor, and gives a good performance. He really carries the film. Liana Libertaro was a pleasant surprise, you could really relate to her character. The biggest disappointment was Olga Kurylenko, she played a seemingly useless character with whom you feel no emotional connection.

The film is a low budget movie, which is an advantage, rather than a disadvantage. The movie feels very real, as if it could really happen.

The story is not a typical Hollywood movie story, with a good pace and characters you can really relate to. You will be entertained when you go watch it.

...watch and enjoy! Sadly, I could not overlook her. Without the daughter, I would have been able to finish this film and most likely say I enjoyed it. She was the first and last straw that broke everything. I tried to hold on, I really did. But her character was just too entirely inconsistent, ridiculous, and therefore annoying. She sapped all joy out of watching Eckhart, who is great and was great in this film. Product of some seriously lazy writing. It almost felt like maybe she was an after-thought...or maybe the character didn't turn out the way they intended and they lost control. She was too bratty. I mean, she was actually unbelievably bratty. No, like literally, it was beyond my capability to suspend belief. She just wasn't real. Yes, they did take some clichéd scenarios we've seen before in the once estranged now newly reunited daughter/father relationship. But, honestly, that's not what killed it. What killed this movie was the absurdist approach to the rebellious teenage daughter. In one instance they're fighting and a split-second later she's beckoning for a show of affection. Dad saves her life and she's mad at him because he saved her life and by all accounts he shouldn't be able to do that. OF COURSE, if I thought my father had been a normal every day working class citizen and I saw him whip out some special agent moves, I would want answers. I WAS once a teenager. I have not forgotten what that was like. If this experience had happened, certainly, I would be confused, frightened, and possibly a little upset, but I wouldn't be so angry, I'd do things like snatch away from my father's grip and yell at him, spewing contempt because he's doing heroic things he shouldn't be able to do...especially when his heroics are done on my behalf.

The actress overplayed the role. She was in moments too grown and subsequently too young in others. There were moments she was completely clueless and asking tons of questions, whereas in others she was suddenly a skilled investigator and taking the lead in ways I would NEVER EVER believe a normal teenage child would begin to know how. I think Ms Liberato is a good actress, I just think with poor writing and poor directing she as well as her character never had a chance for success here.

She was just too unbearable. To have a skilled ex-CIA agent who is completely unable to put his foot down and tell his daughter to 'sit down, shut up, and do what I say!', surpassed what felt like a slap in the face. And the little to non-existing chemistry between her and Eckhart left us with nothing to save this film.

It was an excellent concept, and well made (cinematically). I was hooked from the very first second and dying to know what this mess was all about, but I couldn't take the daughter anymore, who, at every turn, proved herself more and more unimportant to the story. This story really and truly could have survived without the character all together and would have been great!

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

A high security vault is broken in to and a scroll containing highly sensitive information is stolen, setting some highly powerful people on edge. Ex CIA agent Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart) now works as a security adviser for hire under an assumed identity, but returns home with his teenage daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) to find his cover up completely stripped away. Desperate to figure out what's going on, he ends up being targeted for death by mysterious, shady people and learns of a series of other deaths that are linked to a much wider conspiracy involving a giant company.

It would seem even a hot, trendy star of the moment like Aaron Eckhart is not above appearing in the odd straight to DVD offering, or, it would seem a limited release (though I'm not sure where it came out.) The sort of promising, potential laden thriller that would have got a much wider cinema release and lots more publicity in more certain times, The Expatriate sets it's sights a bit higher than being merely the sum of it's parts, a complex thriller that requires your full attention, even if at times it feels so over complicated it can't help but lose it.

With a big name American star in the lead, and almost certainly an American production, the film takes place, for the most part, in Belgium , with Eckhart even getting to display a pleasing grasp of the French vernacular at various points, but as such is mostly a European lensed production and is assuredly dreary and bleak looking through out. While the plot feels as though it has to slow down here and there so you can take it all in, thankfully the action never feels so sluggish, with plenty of neat stunts and chase sequences at various points.

While it may not be a superior film, The Expatriate is certainly a superior small release offering, with a reliably dynamic lead and a decent pace, even if at times it all gets so much to take in it goes over your head. ***

This "Taken" type ex CIA father and teenage daughter action thriller was filmed on location in Belgium and stars good stars Aaron Eckhart and Olga Kurleynko. The latter looked like a young Catherine Zeta Jones in this movie. I was looking forward to it but after watching it I can see why it didn't get a wide theatrical release. The story isn't that good and the characters are interesting or well drawn.

It's too bad the story loses steam around the middle. The ending is moderately satisfying but doesn't make up for the overall feeling of a weak story. The character of the daughter played by Liana Liberato is rather bratty and annoying - she causes unnecessary chaos.

There is an unexpected positive portrayal of immigrants as victims. Quite a change from the Luc Besson type movies where often the ethnic minorities are portrayed as criminals.

Overall it was quite interesting looking at Brussels and Antwerp - cities that aren't often shown on film as they aren't the most spectacular cities in Europe. Sadly the overall feeling is that it was a let down.

I had reasonably high expectations for this film, and for the first 30 minutes or so, they were not misplaced. It all fell apart at the seams tsoon after Aaron Eckhart's daughter made an appearance.

She is the typical rebellious, disrespectful brat from a dysfunctional family who has no respect for law, authority or her father.Sadly, this typical Hollywood nonsense ruins the movie completely.

I eventually walked out.

Even if you can tolerate the "dysfunctional family teenage child" you will have your intelligence insulted with the same rebellious teenager lands up ordering her black-ops CIA father around as if he does not know what he is doing.

This movie could have been excellent. I feel sorry for Aaron Eckhart because his performance I think was brilliant.

A US expatriate working as a security expert in Belgium finds out one day he is involved in a conspiracy that may jeopardize his life and that of his teenage daughter.

Director Philipp Stölzl, better known for the highly praised "Nordwand", tries his hand here at a pulse-pounding thriller. Unfortunately, he borrows just about every trick in the Bourne trilogy without ever pulling one off and the story written by Amel is weak at best.

Aaron Eckhart is an incredibly talented and rather versatile actor but once again, makes a bad choice when picking a leading role. Eckhart has absolutely nothing to work with and seems wasted here, despite doing his best. You can even sense there is chemistry with Liana Liberato, who plays his daughter, but to what avail? Liberato plays the token rebellious daughter who you just know will eventually turn around.

Every single person appearing on screen other than these two is a cardboard character reciting lines. This unfortunately includes Olga Kurylenko, playing a possibly corrupt agent who is chasing our hero and seems involved in the conspiracy. Kurylenko usually commands attention on the screen, even in entertaining B movies but here, you barely notice her.

I'm not against knockoffs, certainly not when we're talking about movies as entertaining as the Bourne entries but The Expatriate is a poor knockoff, unworthy of even a single viewing unless you are a fanatic of this type of action thriller. Even then, expect to be disappointed.

I took a chance on "Erased" because I like spy novels and intrigue. But this film was a scrambled egg at best. If you take ten minutes from The Net, a Bourne movie, a Mission Impossible Movie, Ronin, a Liam Neeson thriller, and a made-for-TV father-daughter Movie of the Week drama, and then edit them all together, you might get an idea of how loose and disjointed this plot is. It's over-the-top but takes itself seriously, which just makes it sad. I actually felt sorry that the actors were forced to say some of these lines. One minute the daughter character was acting 13, the next minute she was assessing situations and taking action like a professional spy. The basic plot is revealed much too quickly and obviously, which is unforgivable for a spy thriller.

Eckhart is an ex-CIA killer turned uber-techno geek. Of course, it's well known that CIA hired guns can double up as PhD research scientists as a fallback career. His wife is apparently dead and he has to take care of his teenage daughter Liberato. Then all hell breaks loose.

So this is basically "Bourne with Daddy issues"... Kids/teenagers typically tend to be annoying in movies, and Expatriate does not deviate from this rule. Of course, Eckhart was "never there for her", "is always at work" and "missed her ceremony". Naturally, Liberato does completely mindless stuff: runs away from her father when trained killers are after them, calls her grandfather when she knows the CIA & al. is after them and listening in, and doesn't want to stay in an empty house they break into to escape an army of policemen and killers. Contrastingly at the same time, she's able to tap into her boyfriend's illegal immigrant network and drive like an ace.

Eckhart remains annoyingly mute for half the movie, until revealing his background piecemeal to his daughter.

Both of them conveniently manage to repeatedly escape Belgium police by running for 10 meters then cutting to another shot on the other side of town.

Eckhart does manage to show off his multi-lingual skills, muscles and decent fighting skills. Olga looks great. Oh and the bad guys are of course really evil, and some of them are double/triple/quadruple agents.

Overall, there are some decent action scenes but not enough to overcome the token teenager tag-on and the over-complicated confusing deja-vue plot.

Finally, it should be noted that it is not just rogue CIA agents that do arms trafficking, but that it is the actual reason-d'etre of the CIA. I'm not so sure we should be made to root for Eckhart since he's also a murderous CIA monster, no matter how many "I believed in the cause" BS he gives us.

I discovered this thriller on IMDb. After I have seen the trailer I thought this one I don't have to miss. In fact it is a fast paced action movie with many elements shown already in other hot films such as Taken or Bourne. The main actors delivered all credible performances. The agents therefore came too weak here. What I didn't like was the cheap cold and dark picture all over the running time. The end was one of the best scenes. I spent really an entertaining evening. This DVD finds a nice place in my best of collection.

Solid rating 6.5/10.

I recommend also both Taken or The Bourne.

For a low budget movie, I will say I enjoy the movie. Has adrenaline, has a good story, and lets agree its not perfect but I will give a honest 9 of 10. Even one can read here some aggressive reviews, Its much more logical and better performed then a "Prometeus" lets say or "Battleship", movies with a lot of lot more budget - and much worst then thin one. A movie who receive no publicity and make us to confirm - once more - the "louder" movies are worst. I am sure this movie will receive much more attention then other "famous" producers. I enjoy the movie. God work. Same for producer. I will recommend this movie because its a decent one.

The true star of this better than average espionage thriller is Belgium. Shot in Antwerp and Brussels the cities are extraordinarily beautiful, written by Arash Amel and directed by Philipp Stölzl – both of whom are young and new to the business and it shows.

Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart in a solid performance) is an ex-CIA agent employed by a huge conglomerate Halgate and working for one of their subsidiary companies as a security engineer. He has invited his daughter Amy (Liana Liberato) to move from the US to Belgium to live with him to reconnect after a lengthy separation. Ben's job is to try to get pass security protocols, fool the eye scanners and break into safes. But overnight Ben discovers that his company, Halgate, no longer inhabits his workplace and that all evidence of Ben's existence has been erased. Slowly he discovers that there is a huge conspiracy surrounding his employer and that soon he and his daughter will become subjects of a manhunt. Ben's co- workers are all murdered with the exception of his colleague Derek Kolper (Neil Napier) who apparently has possession of documents that will bring the conspiracy into the open. Ben relies on his US operative colleague Anna Brandt (the beautiful Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko) who is not who she seems. Amy grows from being a dysfunctional disgruntled teenager to a keen 'agent' with some help from her boyfriend Nabil (the very bright handsome new rising star Yassine Fadel). Targeted for termination by a company with seemingly unlimited recourses, they only have one choice: get to the bottom of this conspiracy in a hope that it will save their lives.

Though there are holes in this story and many borrowed concepts from other films in this genre, the film provides visual if not intellectual excitement. The cast is solid and there is always the magnificent beauty of Belgium to fill in the gaps. Who knows how it will fare when it reaches the theaters, but for now it provides a solid at home evening of entertainment. Grady Harp, April 13

this conspiracy theory structured screenplay is one of the worst i've ever encountered so far. guy hired by a ludicrous shadowy non-exist European country, Belgium, and then moved there starting his job....and this guy was an ex-CIA? are you sure you categorized all the CIA field agents like morons? then things suddenly changed totally overnight, he suddenly became a non-exist person, then the kidnapping, then the car crash, then he killed the killer with a very short-time neck choke that usually only put the choked person into sleep? then police came, both father and daughter were recognized immediately in the train station? the Belgium police might be the smartest, the most alert, the most capable and the luckiest police force in the world. they could so easily identify a person who involved in a car crash that two policemen only saw two figures, one male and one female ran away from the crash site and then within hours, they would become popular household the-most-wanted fugitives and murder suspects in Belgium? give me a break.

when the movie showed all the police force so easily recognized them, and tried to catch them in the train station, the ridiculousness and the stupidity of this movie has reached a unacceptable point and i quit from watching.

this movie had wasted a great actor's talent and is only for those who could take every stupid scenario, plot and directing for granted, not me.

Unbelievably bad! This movie has every cliché ever used since the 70's Here's the story ex CIA hit man has troubled relationship with he's daughter and The story is confusing and incoherent not to mention predictable. A ex CIA black ops on the run with he's daughter in Belgium, yet he never tries to purchase a phone so they can keep in touch when ever they separate, which is quite often. And every time someone tries to kill them ,and good ol daddy comes through and kills the bad guys. Daughter complains a bout it.(can't they just for once make a movie where they can take things like that in stride, I'm getting sooo tired of the cry baby cliché) *********************Spoilers***********spoiler******************** And off course she runs off and away from her dad just cause she finds out he used to be a hit man, the fact that they just barely escaped a couple of bad guys with intent to kill them seem to be lost on her, but her acting skills is horrible anyway I wonder what my tax payer dollar goes to, considering the highly trained CIA hit man just pull out a gun in the middle of a hospital, and starts blasting everyone in he's way while he chases the good guy and he's daughter through the corridors' I mean com on; they're the cia for chirst sake. You don't run black ops in someone else's country ,or your own for that matter, than start shooting everyone left and right in public just to get to your target. Not to mention when he's escaping from the cia team on the hotel, he leave them one floor up, yet when he runs down one floor they're all ready there, even though the elevator isn't working It turns out the movie is about some secret papers stolen from a vault. and off course instead of faxing them to every major newspaper in the world he destroyes them.