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SYNOPSIS: Interpol
agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) is determined to expose
an arms dealing ring responsible for facilitating acts of
terrorism around the globe. But as his investigation leads
Salinger and his partner, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney
Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), deeper into the secret world
of greed, corruption and murder, they become targets of a
deadly conspiracy so vast, they soon find the only people
left to trust?are each other. This pulse-pounding thriller
plays a high-stakes game of suspense, intrigue and explosive
action.
MOVIE
REVIEW
Aside
from the ordinary looking DVD cover that shows Clive Owen
brandishing a gun with Naomi Watts looking on helplessly,
"The International" screams 'ambitious' at every
corner and every plot twist the moment the opening credits
rolled.
The
screenplay by newcomer Eric Singer abandoned the usual route
of big-bang-boom Hollywood action thrillers and took the road
less travelled in fleshing out the story of Interpol agent
Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) who is bent on exposing an evil
financial corporation, the IBBC for facilitating acts of terrorism,
arms trading and money laundering. With the assistance of
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi
Watts) and the local cops, Salinger went round the world to
track down the evil-doers. Will it spell the end of corruption
or will it unearth something more sinister?
The
script took on a huge burden by portraying a 'bank' as the
villain. Not the people running it but the whole IBBC unlike
a typical crime thriller where the villain or a character
is instantly established. Here we have an entity as a villain.
Though "The International" did have the character
of Jonas Skarssen (Ulrich Thomsen) as the man behind the running
of the bank but it’s not convincingly written and for
the most part, conveniently singled out for the sake of the
audience to establish a link with. This is one of the greatest
mishaps “The International” possessed.
Of
course, the biggest credit goes to Clive Owen as the agent
who believes in nothing except carrying out justice to the
evil-doers. In the hands of director Tony Tykwer (Run Lola
Run), Agent Salinger doesn’t crashes through windows
Jason Bourne style or crashes any Aston Martin James Bond
style, Tykwer even discards the usage of jump cuts and shaky
camera jolt which Paul Greengrass fancies and relies on old-school
gunplay and footchase yet effectively brought out the movie’s
few moments of tension. One of note is the movie’s major
action sequence that took place at the prestigious Guggenheim
museum (though replicated by the filmmakers due to obvious
reason) in New York.
Owen’s
deep baritone voice and his unshaven presence fit the role
perfectly though the demure looking Watts at her first attempt
as a heroine pales in comparison and to make matters worse,
her role is underwritten and somewhat disappear inbetween
acts leaving Owen and his captivating performance to hold
the fort.
Ironically,
given the plotline and various on location shoot that took
place from Berlin to New York to Istanbul, it ended with an
anti-climax and wrapped with a low-key feel that is totally
disconnected with its overall ambitious treatment. Perhaps
it’s done on purpose by Tykwer and Singer but credit
should be given for their attempt at churning out a good old
globetrotting crime thriller that entertains for the whole
118 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Audio commentary by director Tom Tykwer and screenwriter Eric
Singer – If you are in a somber and serious
mood then this commentary track might be for you otherwise
some of the information offered by the duo is presented in
the subsequent features.
Extended
Scene – A fairly interesting sequence that
runs 11 minutes involves Salinger and Whitman sharing a quiet
moment together and Salinger is shown in a scene with his
daughter back at his home. Pity these were left on the cutting
floor as it would have given more exposure to their personal
lives.
Making
The International – Running at a staggering
30 minutes, this feature covers cast-and-crew interviews,
behind-the-scenes footages and interesting information bits.
Shooting
At the Guggenheim – It took 16 years to build the real Guggenheim and it took 16 weeks to build the replica. Take a look at how the
Guggenheim is replicated in an abandoned plant in Berlin for
the movie’s shootout sequence.
The
Architecture of The International – This feature
takes you around the world where the filmmakers went scouting
for suitable architects for the movie’s setting.
The
Autostadt – The Volkswagen-owned building is
featured in this 5 minutes featurette as it’s doubling
for IBBC in the movie.
The
Code 3 DVD rounds up with trailers for The
Taking of Pelham 123, Angels & Demons and Underworld:
Rise of the Lycans
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
DVD transfer is vivid though the color tones look a bit muted
at times but overall it’s an above average presentation.
For a dialogue laded movie, the Dolby Digital 5.1 hardly kicks
into full gear with the exception of the Guggenheim shootout
sequence. Even the score by director Tykwer, Johnny Klimek
and Reinhold Heil seems hardly there.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted on 22 July 2009
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