Wednesday 22 July 2009

The International — A Review: Gently losing the plot …


22nd July, 2009

Hmmm …


Well …

Hmmm …

That was one of those, wasn’t it?

Gwen, Adrian, Stef, Ali?

It was , wasn’t it?

Now, as you can tell, Tuesday is another semi-regular Movie Night; complete with Gwen and her partner Stefan, popping in; along with Adrian, and Allison, as well.

Tonight’s movie?

Was the Clive Owen/Naomi Watts thriller, “The International”.

And, as you can tell, it’s a bit … um … well …

It kind of fell a bit flat, didn’t it, folks?

I’m not going to say it’s bad, though, not per se.

But it’s not exactly a grabber, either.

All the ingredients are there, for a good thriller; a competent cast, fronted by Watts and Owen, nicely directed by Tom Tykwer, and competently, if not stunningly, written by Eric Singer.

Which is possibly where the film falls apart …

The plot — very loosely based on the BCCI scandal, a few years back — sees Clive Owen and Naomi Watts as, respectively, Interpol Agent Lois Salinger and Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman, investigating the various shades of dodgy dealings by an international bank. Which is possibly where I have issues. If you recall, Adrian and I saw “Casino Royale”, a few months back, which seems to handle similar territory in a much more exciting way.

And I personally — although I think Adrian’ll possibly disagree — think “Enigma” was a better done thriller.

I’m fairly certain — and this isn’t me being disrespective to Clive Owen, before you ask — that Dougray Scott might well have done a better job in the central rôle.

I’m also fairly sure that that the hitman-for-hire character used by the bank in the film — credited only as ‘The Consultant’ and played by Brian F. O’Byrne— was seriously underused. Which always seems to be the way; the villains are usually the eye-catching parts!!

That’s where I’ll leave it, I think.

I will reiterate, though, that “The International” isn’t a bad film; but it’s not stunning, either.

That might give you food for thought, if you’re thinking of renting it out.

You might just be better off spending your money on “Repo!” …

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