The International 1.5/5 Starring Clive Owen, Ulrich Thomsen ‘amp; Naomi Watts Directed by Tom Tykwer Rated R
In his latest globetrotting bank bust, ‘Run Lola Run’ director Tom Tykwer throws us his glossiest action yet, part ’90s B-list thriller, part ‘Law and Order’ episode. One especially heart-racing scene aside ‘mdash; shot on a life-size replica of the Guggenheim Museum in New York ‘mdash; the film couldn’t make up for an elementary plotline and meaningless dialogue with all the flashy lights of the Big Apple.
When Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) finds himself looking up from a German hospital bed after witnessing his partner’s murder, he vows to seek revenge at all costs. Jetting from Berlin to Milan to New York, we tag behind Salinger and his dull-eyed new partner ‘mdash; district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts)’shy; ‘mdash; as they attempt to uncover the dark underbelly of IBBC, a multinational bank with more than a few dirty pockets and undocumented accounts.
Salinger is an obsessive Holmes type, always eyeing his evidence before pouncing, and always in gusts of stroke-inducing intensity. Every attempt to explain his dark and brooding past seems inconsequential, and two hours of watching Salinger pursue personal vendetta ‘mdash; relentlessly pushed across the world’s waters ‘mdash; makes for the kind of exhaustion one only feels after an all-night Travel Channel marathon. Despite Owen’s efforts to subdue a ridiculous plot with that impeccable stone-face, the fluffy narrative manages to overpower even his most reliable talent.’ ‘
Further detrimental to the film is Watts, Salinger’s underdeveloped sidekick, suggesting the characer as a mother doting on her bratty child. The uncharacteristically wooden Oscar nominee delivers dialogue akin to that of Betty Elms in Hollywood satire ‘Mulholland Drive.’ This time, though, the joke’s on her.
‘International’ doesn’t have enough oomph to lure action junkies, and its simplistic narrative caters to prepubescent intellect, at best. But even ‘Grand Theft’ audiences will likely doze off as Salinger drools on about conspiracy and modern capitalism.
Bottom line: Don’t expect this one to deliver gestures of cinematography offered by sophisticated thrillers like last year’s ‘The Dark Knight,’ or for newcomer scribe Eric Singer to develop a storyline beyond that of a mediocre TV crime drama. Just sit back, suspend the last 10 years of your education and hold on tight.