The International Review

There are no spoilers in this review.

PLOT: An Interpol agent attempts to expose a high-profile financial institution's role in an international arms dealing ring.


THE GOOD: Locations. You can take the movie's title, The International, to be short for the International Bank of Business and Credit, or you can think that the reason is because of the many international locales that the movie takes place in. You go from Berlin to New York to Luxembourg to Milan to Istanbul. It was fun to see all of the locations, especially Berlin and Luxembourg since I've been to both cities before. Director Tom Tykwer does a good job incorporating the cities to the storyline. Done very much like the Bourne films.


Acting. Clive Owen is good as always. It's a character he's done before, but he does it great. Naomi Watts was surprisingly not bad. Her character is written as a smart assistant district attorney who has some type of history with Owen's character, but there's no love connection and it's not really clear if there ever really was. I feel like Watts' character was more important in the film because she wasn't just a woman that needed winning over. Other good performances from Armin Mueller-Stahl and Ulrich Thomsen. Oh, and I liked seeing Patrick Baladi in the film. He'll always remind me of Neil Godwin.

Action. I noticed that the previews, posters, and ads seem to up-play the action in the film and I think the marketing was geared more towards the male audience. Realistically, there's a lot more talking and tracking down the guilty. However, the action that does occur is very cool, very realistic, and very bloody. There's an elaborate shootout that occurs in the Guggenheim Museum in NYC that is definitely the high point of the film. The setting is great, the action is tough and gritty, and the characters are authentic.


THE BAD: Dialogue. To be fair, this is Eric Singer's first script. There are some confusing moments in the dialogue as well as some cheesy lines. Still, I think the story, characters, and action are strong enough to carry the movie. Singer can only learn from this experience and grow.


THE END: The movie felt like a longer more expensive episode of Law & Order. Now, let me just say that I love Law & Order, so don't take that statement as a complete negative. There's nothing extremely flashy about the film and it'll mostly be forgotten in a few years. I liked the film, but wouldn't say that it'll definitely make a top ten list. I wouldn't rush out to see it, but perhaps see it in the cheap theatres if you have one near you. Definitely rent it if you don't catch it soon.


DISCUSS: What other Clive Owen movies do you like? What are some similar movies? How did you like the ending? What did you think of the gun shootout scene?