The International
Nazis, Afrikaners, Arabs… and now bankers. Given the current economic state of the world it’s little surprise that Hollywood’s favourite villain of the moment is the investment banker. And in new action-thriller The International, nefarious money lenders take centre stage.
In The International, Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger, a frequently frustrated Interpol agent out to expose the International Bank of Business and Credit, whose “diversified asset portfolio” has seen the organisation branch out into arms dealing and the funding of government coups. Assisted by Manhattan District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), Salinger jets back and forth across the Atlantic, following the most tenuous of leads in his bid to get some hard evidence against the IBBC. But with key witnesses dying or disappearing, official records forever changing and powerful authority figures in the bank’s pocket, Salinger is making no progress while he sticks to legal investigative channels. Ultimately he has to make the decision to become as dirty as the bank he’s pursuing.
There’s a lot that is good and satisfying about The International. For one thing, the film is an international enterprise on multiple levels. The director is German (Tom Tykwer), the cast is assembled from multiple countries, and the action is set in cities across Europe and in the United States. The International lacks the glamorous and exotic locations of a James Bond film, but it does include many striking expansive shots of cityscapes that include New York, Milan, Berlin, Lyon and Istanbul. The International is a very attractive-looking film.
Although characters are largely one-dimensional, they are, refreshingly, not indestructible or emotionless. Even veteran agents, who should have experience with gunfights, are still anxious and trembly in such situations. This gives Clive Owen’s character, especially, some much needed, credible vulnerability.
Tonally, The International feels a lot like an episode of crime TV series, Without a Trace. It’s intelligent and thoughtful, and very much at its strongest when attempting to be a realistic take on the pitfalls of investigating corporate corruption. The problem though is that the film tends to falter as it teeters on the line between realism and conventional popcorn entertainment.
Viewers are able to stomach a simplification of issues. They can overlook the usual movie silliness, such as the ease and speed with which characters flit across the globe, and the fact that nobody ever has parking problems in some of the most gridlocked cities in the world. However, when characters start behaving illogically – the head of the IBCC (Ulrich Thomsen) attends a shady meeting without any bodyguards to protect him – and massive plot holes open up, it becomes just too difficult to overlook the flaws and immerse yourself in the film. The illusion is shattered.
The trailers for The International have placed a great deal of emphasis on a fight sequence in New York’s famous Guggenheim Museum. Unfortunately this big selling point of the film is also its most jarring scene, with both logic and realism flying out the window. A gang of uzi-wielding thugs appear out of nowhere and the museum’s security guards apparently vanish into the ether, leaving Salinger and his companion to shoot their way to safety.
It’s a stylish but otherwise ridiculous scene, clearly trying to emulate the action sequences in Daniel Craig’s two recent James Bond films. Disappointingly, it doesn’t quite work, and from this point The International slips and slides to an indifferent conclusion.
After a solid start The International ends up being a so-so movie, weakened no doubt by its attempt to simultaneously satisfy thinking adult cinema goers and typical action junkies – two very different groups who rarely sit comfortably side by side.
In The International, Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger, a frequently frustrated Interpol agent out to expose the International Bank of Business and Credit, whose “diversified asset portfolio” has seen the organisation branch out into arms dealing and the funding of government coups. Assisted by Manhattan District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), Salinger jets back and forth across the Atlantic, following the most tenuous of leads in his bid to get some hard evidence against the IBBC. But with key witnesses dying or disappearing, official records forever changing and powerful authority figures in the bank’s pocket, Salinger is making no progress while he sticks to legal investigative channels. Ultimately he has to make the decision to become as dirty as the bank he’s pursuing.
There’s a lot that is good and satisfying about The International. For one thing, the film is an international enterprise on multiple levels. The director is German (Tom Tykwer), the cast is assembled from multiple countries, and the action is set in cities across Europe and in the United States. The International lacks the glamorous and exotic locations of a James Bond film, but it does include many striking expansive shots of cityscapes that include New York, Milan, Berlin, Lyon and Istanbul. The International is a very attractive-looking film.
Although characters are largely one-dimensional, they are, refreshingly, not indestructible or emotionless. Even veteran agents, who should have experience with gunfights, are still anxious and trembly in such situations. This gives Clive Owen’s character, especially, some much needed, credible vulnerability.
Tonally, The International feels a lot like an episode of crime TV series, Without a Trace. It’s intelligent and thoughtful, and very much at its strongest when attempting to be a realistic take on the pitfalls of investigating corporate corruption. The problem though is that the film tends to falter as it teeters on the line between realism and conventional popcorn entertainment.
Viewers are able to stomach a simplification of issues. They can overlook the usual movie silliness, such as the ease and speed with which characters flit across the globe, and the fact that nobody ever has parking problems in some of the most gridlocked cities in the world. However, when characters start behaving illogically – the head of the IBCC (Ulrich Thomsen) attends a shady meeting without any bodyguards to protect him – and massive plot holes open up, it becomes just too difficult to overlook the flaws and immerse yourself in the film. The illusion is shattered.
The trailers for The International have placed a great deal of emphasis on a fight sequence in New York’s famous Guggenheim Museum. Unfortunately this big selling point of the film is also its most jarring scene, with both logic and realism flying out the window. A gang of uzi-wielding thugs appear out of nowhere and the museum’s security guards apparently vanish into the ether, leaving Salinger and his companion to shoot their way to safety.
It’s a stylish but otherwise ridiculous scene, clearly trying to emulate the action sequences in Daniel Craig’s two recent James Bond films. Disappointingly, it doesn’t quite work, and from this point The International slips and slides to an indifferent conclusion.
After a solid start The International ends up being a so-so movie, weakened no doubt by its attempt to simultaneously satisfy thinking adult cinema goers and typical action junkies – two very different groups who rarely sit comfortably side by side.
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