BOTTOM LINE: “Fair Game” is a smart, insightful thriller that takes a while to get going but is carried by strong performances by Watts and Penn.

THE GOOD: A smart, political thriller is hard to come by these days but “Fair Game” definitely fits the bill. The film is based on the true story of Valerie Plame, a CIA agent who was outed by the White House when her husband Ambassador Joe Wilson does an opinion piece for The New York Times in which he contradicts the assertions of the Bush administration of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the lead up to the invasion of Iraq. Naomi Watts plays Valerie Plame strong and assertive, yet vulnerable as her life disintegrates around her after her identity and work become public. Sean Penn is likewise excellent as Joe Wilson who is incensed by what has happened to Valerie and will stop at nothing to reveal the truth when he knows that the White House is lying. A lot of the story of this film will no doubt upset supporters for the war, and likewise embolden its detractors, as short of making a statement of what was happening at the time, the film is essentially about the White House clutching at any straws they could find to hang their case on invading Iraq (which is line that is not particularly new but still engaging nonetheless). When the wheels come off for the characters, the film definitely kicks in to gear as the pressure mounts on them from certain officers from within the White House who want to keep them silent. “Fair Game” is solid, smart thriller that engages in its rhetoric and story.

THE BAD: The film does take a while to get going. The first third of the film is devoted to the setup of Plame and her daily duties. As fascinating as they are, the story itself gets bogged down as not much of it goes anywhere; we are essentially just watching all the background information required to set up Plame’s character and the situations she finds herself in. It may be a bit unfair to put this in the ‘bad’ column as all of this is required, but from a story point of view, the film creaks along a little too slowly during these scenes. This is no more prevalent than in the scene where Joe shows Valerie the news article in which she is outed and the film kicks in to high gear, almost too abruptly.