Some political thrillers like Ghost Writer and State of Play (the BBC mini-series, not the Hollywood remake) epitomize storytelling at its finest. Formosa Betrayed, however, falls short of its ambitions.
In 1983, FBI agent Jake Kelly (James Van Der Beek) is sent to Taiwan to investigate the murder of a Taiwanese-American professor. He soon finds that the Taiwanese security apparatus is not interested in keeping him in the loop, so he then decides to take matters into his own hands, and he is quickly caught up in a web of illegal activity that suggests the Taiwanese government may be responsible for the professor’s death.
The opening scene at Taipei airport sets up the rest of the film, which mostly takes place beforehand, with periodic flashbacks (or are they flashforwards?) to this scene over and over again. Director Adam Kane and the screenwriters have obviously seen Syriana, Crash and other such dramas that experiment with temporality, but this storytelling device comes off as cheap here, done only for the sake of cleverness.
The dialogue leaves little room for characterization, as there is so much exposition in the script. The film feels like a history lecture at times, as still photographs are bizarrely intercut in sequences when the characters discuss the historical context of the events.
Formosa Betrayed desperately wants to be a smart thriller, but ultimately its script prevents it from being anything but forgettable.
2 Stars
Directed by: Adam Kane
Starring: James Van Der Beek, Wendy Crewson, Will Tiao
Rated R, 103 min.
