The initial plot line was interesting, about Jon Hamm as a State Dept leader employing and adopting the brother of a Palestine terrorrist. It had potential, but then it morphed into Mad Men Middle East. Hamm plays an cynical but smooth talking alcoholic haunted by past secrets, with an incredibly high tolerance for booze that can switch from wasted to competent on a dime. He also goes for mystery strolls through terror ridden Beirut neighborhoods. Finally, multi-lingual CIA Peggy olsen is along to be a foil to his self indulgence. Hank from Breaking Bad and Eli from Boardwalk Empire are there too as bad guys. I watched it on a plane, and I'm glad I didn't spend actual money on it.

I mean, come on, doesn't anyone proof the scripts they're producing anymore? This was so unrealistic it's ridiculous. Jon Hamm - you're above this drivel. What an insulting plate of barf this film was.

It's 1972 Beirut. American diplomat Mason Skiles (Jon Hamm) and his wife Nadia are caring for local boy Karim. Karim's older brother Rami is connected to terrorism. He attacks the Skiles home to retrieve Karim. Nadia is killed in the process. Seven years later, Mason is back in the States as an arbitrator in labor disputes. He's become a drunk. He reluctantly accepts an emergency return to Beirut to negotiate for the release of an embassy official. Karim is involved. The country is in tatters in the midst of a civil war. No one knows who's killing who. CIA agent Sandy Crowder (Rosamund Pike) is in charge of the operation. The Israelis want a green light for an invasion.This needs some exposition to explain Karim and the general politics of the region. It is able to present a sense of chaos. The chaos does leech into the movie and threatens to confuse the audience. I never got lost but it did require some effort to understand the various sides. I'm sure some people got bored rather than trying to follow the plot. One scene where Sandy clearly identify all the players would be helpful. Jon Hamm is great but I expect nothing less. It was filmed in Tangier, Morocco which gave it its great Middle Eastern feel. All that's missing is a scene where the situation is laid out clearly to the audience.

Imagine that Don Draper was a hotshot USA diplomat in the early '70s, and played off someone not unlike Peggy Olson.