Release Date: 02/13/2009
The International, directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and written by first time scribe Eric Singer, is an action thriller about a corrupt bank and the two lead actors trying to uncover the bank’s illegal activities including money laundering, arms trading, and the undermining of governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin to Milan to New York and finally to Istanbul. They find themselves in a high-stakes chase across the globe. It is a film that I wish I enjoyed more, it had its moments of decent drama and good action but in the end the script falls apart and the result is a mediocre film.
The film begins with an obsessive Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) who heads an investigation into one of the world’s most powerful banking institutions in an attempt to expose them for worldwide arms dealing, corruption and murder. Naomi Watts plays Eleanor Whitman, a Manhattan assistant district attorney who partners with the agent to take down the bank. There is something that is missing from The International that would make it a great film but I’m not sure what it is. The plot is interesting in the beginning of the film but slowly fades out and deeper and deeper we got into the story the more bored I became. Then finally in the conclusion I felt very unsatisfied as the story ends with an anticlimactic finish.
The positive thing about this film is the cinematography. Some of the aerial views mixed with Tom Tykwer’s style of the moving camera made it very nice to look at it would have been great to have a better story to go along with that. Right in the middle of the film is its best scene, the shootout at the Guggenheim Museum. This was filmed astoundingly and the suspense is definitely there, wondering who is going to be shot next. The shootout is a bit long and ends kind of unrealistically but it was pretty sweet scene while it lasted. The performances are just all right at best, nothing special, Clive Owen does a good job creating his character I just didn’t fully believe he could turn into a hero like he did, killing people like he’s been doing it for years. Then there is Nomi Watts who really didn’t have much screen time like you would expect and then kind of just goes away towards the end of the film, which I though was strange.
The International is not quite a great drama, its not a great action film, nor is it a great suspense thriller. It is a mediocre mix of the three genres. The script may be the reason, as Eric Singer doesn’t get it completely right on his first feature film. Maybe he will have some better luck at his next attempt.
IMDB: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Moviewiseguys: 6.5/10