The International

The International is a decent, though somewhat chatty, political/espionage flick with one excellent shootout. The characters are not exactly depicted in detail, which makes the audience appreciate the expressive body language of Clive Owen. He’s a perfect fit for his agent character. Naomi Watts is just there for marketing purposes, so that her face could be put on the posters. The story is overly contrived but interesting and the soft, pulsating electronic music helps to keep the suspense going (it’s simply fun to root for a bold, likable guy standing up against the most powerful manipulators in the world). There’s also an atmospheric manor on a cliff, looking like something from a Bond film. It’s no new Bourne and Michael Clayton went deeper, but Tykwer’s commercial flick does reach the level of Sydney Pollack’s The Interpreter. (2009-03-03)

I had simply perceived Tykwer's film as a classic "spy" thriller, which seems to have been made in the 1960s or 1970s, when the genre was particularly favored. I didn't really (consciously, at least) focus on which direction the characters were moving and which cameras were moving, and I "just" watched the well-chosen locations, the suspenseful story development, the sympathetically scruffy Clive Owen, the sympathetically un-scruffy Naomi Watts, and the masterful Mueller-Stahl, and I was blissful that the script wasn't as stupid as most contemporary thrillers.... And that was enough for me, actually. The fact that there is a lot of talking in The International is not a bad thing, and one truly “action" scene (the bombastic shootout in the Guggenheim Museum, which was probably built for this sequence) is also quite enough. (2012-06-28)

A relatively low-budget spy flick in a fast style, with a rather raw and minimalist execution and likeable main characters. It lacks the typical American grandeur, filters, and glitz, but on the other hand, we get great shootouts that in a way are very inventive. The talking parts are not as interesting, but, the fluff is necessary here as well. Respectably mastered craftsmanship. (2009-09-19)

Wonderful shots of all sorts of things without any screenplay worth speaking of. What surprised me most is that they managed to talk both Clive Owen and Naomi Watts into doing this, because this dumb, over-combined movie simply doesn’t deserve them. If it weren’t for the actors, Tykwer’s eye for captivating shots and the untraditional music, The International would be slopping around in international waste waters. (2009-05-27)

While it looks like an action-packed romp, except that it's not action, unless you count the shootout in the gallery, which is the only one that really caught my attention. Otherwise? Not that great. I'd give it 2 stars, but because it ends quite realistically and believably, indeed it's all pretty believable in general (their injuries, for example – they really are injured, they go to the doctor and don't miraculously recover from their injuries in the next scene). So I really appreciate that about this film. Then there's also my favorite actor starring – another plus. The romance wasn't there, which may be a shame for the viewer's attention span, but maybe that's what really makes the film more believable... anyway, check it out if you like Clive and if you like the worker ant wanting to bring down the supervillain corporation. (2010-03-05)