The haters will tell you that Infidel is a poorly made, heavy handed Christian movie. It's not. It's an international action thriller movie. American man travels to foreign country and is abducted and tortured for his beliefs. His wife works for the State Department and her bosses decline to help. She steps up and tries to rescue her husband.

Infidel contains the action and suspense fans of the genre want.

Yes, Doug, the main character, is a Christian, and he is abducted and tortured by Iranians. Yes, that does happen in real life. In fact persecution of Christians goes on everyday in Muslim countries. The haters are getting their shorts in a wad, not over real life human suffering, but over the depiction of that suffering on screen.

There is no heavy handed Christian proselytizing in this movie. It's not a Bond film, but it's satisfying as a representative of the genre.

Jim Caviezel is, as ever handsome and charismatic. Claudia Karvan, as his wife is charming and lovable, as she should be. Hal Ozsan is very good as the torturer.

The time is the present. The setting is Tehran. Doug Rawlins works in intelligence in Washington, D.C. He is also a popular political blogger who is always willing to honestly express his views. When he is invited to speak in Cairo, Doug is being set up by his erstwhile friend Javid. He is held hostage, taken to Lebanon, and then to Iran where he will stand trial for being an American spy.

There was an overtly political message in "Infidel" that pointed to the barbarism of Iran's judicial system and flouting of civil liberties of Doug Rawlins. There was also a critique of the American State Department's hands-off policy in refusing to intervene in Doug's cause. It is the Mossad that heroically undertakes his rescue.

The personal side of the film was well-conceived in the loving relationship of Doug and his wife Liz. After Liz lost the baby in an auto accident, she felt betrayed by God. But Doug has retained his faith, despite his tendency to put his foot in his mouth during a television broadcast in Cairo.

The film was well-directed with a fast pace, plenty of action, and an especially nefarious villain in the character of Ramzi. The prison break was well choreographed, and the performances were first-rate. The dialogue was crisp, especially in the feisty Doug, whose defiance against being held captive and banter with Ramzi elevated this film far above a mere action piece.

A nice moment of compassion on the part of Doug was apparent in his farewell scene with Ramzi. There was even a topical reference in the film to COVID. "Infidel" is by far one of best of the lockdown movies in the past year.

Jim Caviezel, Claudia Karvan, Both were awesome in this very moving story about a man kidnapped in the Middle East, and A wife whom would not give up on him, Loved this based on a true story and will be glad to recommend it. James Welch Hemderson, Arkansas. 1/7/2021