jormatuominen
I have watched this film at least five times and haven´t still quite gotten enough. It has everything going for it - a cast of stars, cinematic excellence and a script that walks the thin line between plausible and not quite plausible to build a lot of suspense. Shooting locations (no pun intended) include among others the Hagia Sophia and of course the now-legendary seven minute Uzi war in the Guggenheim Museum - surely this is no longer a spoiler! There are many scenes that could be from a Hitchcock film, for example the totally random appearance of a suspect and the resulting trailing to the Museum, suspense building inside the viewer´s head. Wide-eyed and unshaven, Clive Owen as the bewildered and pissed off main character seems straight out of North By Northwest. What´s more, the ghost of Orson Welles is even stronger than that of Hitch. After all Orson´s favorite theme of power corrupting mercilessly it´s users is the essence of Eric Warren Singer´s extremely well thought out script. There is a lot of dialogue and it´s all relevant and intelligent. Naomi Watts has a fairly limited female lead role, but she does it well. The film does not give any verbal hints about the relationship between the lead characters, yet it is obvious from the acting that there is or at least has been one. The lack of romantic nonsense earns an extra star for the International. Believe me, this is not that kind of film. Armin Mueller-Stahl is once again the old guy who actually knows what´s going on, a role he has done many times and he is again absolutely superb in it.
The Movie Diorama
My adoration for cold realistic spy thrillers is well known. From the likes of John Le Carré film adaptations to technological conspiracy thrillers, there is something for everyone in this sub-genre. Despite the real world scenarios, these are not entirely accessible as many struggle to focus on the jargon and narrative structure. The International is that, but I do not see this as a detriment. Two special agents are tasked in investigating possible corruption within a fictional bank known as the IBBC. Anyone who gets close mysteriously disappear or meet their untimely demise, thus leading Interpol into believing illegal activity. Interestingly based on the BCCI scandal of 1986, it portrays how global finance can affect international politics. This is absurdly intelligent, I mean get ready to bring a notepad with you because by the end of this you will earn a degree in finance and politics. It is heavy. It is cold. It is not for everyone. Yet, it is constantly engaging. The script and direction really enhances this thriller to stand out above the rest...for the most part. Extremely concise dialogue. Fact one is interjected with fact two is then counteracted by fact three to only then be pushed aside by fact four. Super sharp and on point consistently. It's a riveting watch and entirely fascinating. Tom Tykwer's direction is clinically clean, and it suits this style of film. Focussing on the bright white architecture to enhance the grandeur of powerful corporations against one small man. The occasional action scenes were well filmed and edited. The shootout at the Guggenheim museum is one of the best ever and highly recommend you watch it. It's fast, tense and leaves you speechless. Especially when it comes out of nowhere! The production team constructed a replica of the museum, just so that they can rain bullets upon it. Now that is dedication. After this scene though, the plot dips and the film's conclusion is underwhelming...which is a shame. Not for everyone, but superbly made.
Matthew_Capitano
Clive Owen is excellent in this gripping tale of political intrigue. An exciting suspense story centering around Owen's attempt to unravel a puzzle of financial misdeed. Owen delivers a gritty performance while Naomi Watts is along for the ride as his vague love interest. Well-directed by Tom Tykwer with an 'edge-of-your-seat' musical score to which Tykwer contributed. Best scenes include an extensive array of gunfire between warring parties at the Guggenheim Institute, and the final chase scene conducted on foot.Clive Owen is the breakout star of the decade -- he makes Tom Cruise look like cheap American dog food.
Charles Herold (cherold)
The International involves an investigation into a powerful bank that is doing many terrible things and will destroy anyone who gets in its way. I didn't find this totally convincing. Corporations do many terrible things, but normally they don't instigate violence on a mass scale in first world countries, and this made the movie feel about as realistic as cop films in which mobsters blithely kill off large number of cops and politicians.But if you overlook that, this is a pretty good movie. The first half is essentially an investigative drama. Once again, there's a little bit of cliché involved in the way you've got a couple of smart investigators determined to find the truth while being hamstrung by their bosses. But it is interesting to watch the investigation proceed.The second half of the movie is livelier, most notably in a big shootout at the Guggenheim Museum that is pretty entertaining.But while this was well done, I didn't connect strongly with the movie. The leads were professional but a bit bland, the story, as I've said, seemed a little unrealistic, and the look was often a bit too monochromatic for me as so much of it took place in offices.I was torn between giving this a 6 or a 7. I feel it is a 7 in quality, but I think in terms of enjoyment I'm closer to 6.
AD
