Synopsis: An Interpol Agent and a New York District Attorney attempt to take down one of the most corrupt and deadly banks in the world in The International.
Release Date: February 13, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Suspense, Drama
Film Review
Production
The International should have been a suspense thriller; instead, it’s dry and uneventful with little if any action and a story that wants to be overly intellectual but fails.
Acting
Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, as Louis and Eleanor respectively, try very hard to make the situation they are faced with seem of the utmost importance and their need to solve the matter one of desperation. Due to the lack of substance in the film as a whole their performances come across as over-acted and a waste of energy for such a lackluster story.
Directing
Tom Tykwer had a misstep with his direction of this film. It lacks any sort of excitement or suspense and the overall tone is somber. He fails to interest the viewer in the story or keeps a pace that would energize them as it develops. It is regrettable that the film is so poorly put together to the point he neglected to give it the action it greatly needed and the techniques of cinematography, music, and editing, to distinguish it as a well done dramatic thriller.
Action Sequences
If you are expecting action, you will be thoroughly disappointed. There are no real action sequences in the entire film. The most you get is a large amount of gunfire which is staged in a typical “hide, then shoot, then hide again” choreography that delivers a large yawn. As for the climax, blink and you may miss it for it is lifeless and provides no real satisfaction.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Tom Tykwer
- Screenwriter: Eric Warren Singer
- Cast: Clive Owen (Louis Salinger), Naomi Watts (Eleanor Whitman), Armin Mueller-Stahl (Wilhelm Wexler), Ulrich Thomsen (Jonas Skarssen), Michael Voletti (Viktor Haas), Luca Giorgio Barbareschi (Umberto Calvini)
- Mathilde Bonnefoy, Frank Griebe, Reinhold Heil, Johnny Kilmek, Tom Tykwer
- Country Of Origin: USA, Germany
