The International - Review

In a year when everyone is feeling the pinch of recession, the time couldn't be better for a film about corrupt banking. And with The International we have such a film. Whether it's any good is open for debate, and whether it truly addresses the role global banking has played in our current predicament is also highly dubious, but Tom Tykwer's slick, tense thriller is certainly one thing; entertaining.

Clive Owen and Naomi Watts star as an Interpol agent and a lawyer attempting to bring one of the worlds leading banks to its knees over allegations that it is brokering deals for major arms. It's an interesting concept and one I can imagine wasn't easy to shape and structure into an entertaining 2 hour film, however screenwriter Eric Singer has more or less pulled off.

Opening in Germany as an employee of the IBBC bank is about to turn whistleblower the film twists and turns as Salinger (Owen) and Eleanor (Watts) try to bring the truth to light, against assassination attempts, cover ups and political pressures from up on high.

The big talking point in The International for anyone who's seen it is simple. The Guggenheim gun fight. In the post Bourne world with the bar having been raised, actions scenes need to really excel the prove themselves in this new action movie world Paul Greengrass has given us. And when even Quantum of Solace failed miserably, despite throwing all the action it could think of at the screen. Thank god then for Tom Tykwer and his marvellously orchestrated gun fight in the Guggenheim. It's the only real action scene in the movie, but its the films high point, and stands up alongside most great action sequences of the past few years.

Its a shame then that from this point on the film loses its way and the tension fizzles out. After a good, if a little expository 1st act, and solid suspense filled 2nd act, the 3rd really falls away as the film realises that there is no satisfactory ending which has been promised for so long.

Before watching the film I read a number of reviews, most positive but with some clear misgivings, one of which was the decision to have Watt's Eleanor leave the investigation at the end of the 2nd act. Too many people read into this that it was because it became clear she was not a love interest, and yet this idea seems obtuse. At no point is the idea that Eleanor could be a lov interest. In fact The International should be commended for not indulging in such mindless and pointless subplots. By the end of the 2nd act it is painfully clear that for them to continue would be a futile exercise for which there could only be one outcome. That the characters are wise enough to step away and understand the threat adds some much needed integrity, and the scene is one of the films strongest.

Having given the film all the commendations I have its important to illustrate that this film is not to be taken seriously. This isn't All the Presidents Men, its James Bond but with a villains who are accountants instead of megalomaniacs. Certain scenes even feel like there from a Bond film, One location in particular felt like a discarded villains lair. The truth is simple, The International is the film Quantum of Solace should have been, instead of flat, uninspired, frenetic action piece after action piece, it should have been a fun romp dealing with 21st villains and contemporary issues (like the role of global banking is proliferating warfare). Having said that the villains, and I don't even feel I can call them villains, are just not convincing enough. Accountants just are scary, and despite a strong performance from Armin Mueller-Stahl and Brian O'Byrne as the assassin the rest of the bad guys are decidedly unconvincing.

Despite some major problems with the plausibility of the story, The International shows that Tom Tykwer is a great visualist with some panache for creating a great action sequence and that when Daniel Craig hangs up the Tuxedo Clive Owen should be top of the list to take over. A enjoyable is slightly ridiculous thriller.

3 stars