Running time: 118 minutes
Starring: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen, Luca Barbareschi, Patrick Baladi
Rating 6 out of 10
Given the contributing role of the banks in the present global financial catastrophe, it's evident they're not the shrewdest institutions around, but, if The International is anything to go by, they are certainly one of the most ruthless. For here they are only to willing to have politicians assassinated and to sponsor revolutionary coups all in the pursuit of profits.
The International is a serviceable thriller in which a bank is the bad guy being hunted down by a tenacious Interpol agent played by Clive Owen. In addition to providing the framework on which to construct a globetrotting action drama, the bank's corrupt policies form a central theme in Eric Warren Singer's script, which delivers a strong indictment of banks in general, focusing in particular on their abuse of power.
The film opens with the death of agent Louis Salinger's (Owen) partner in Berlin while the pair were investigating the International Bank of Business and Credit. Headed by Jonas Skarssen (Ulrich Thomsen), the IBBC is embroiled in a massive arms deal involving missile guidance devices. For Salinger, exposing the bank's illicit dealings has become an obsession, one that had caused him to be fired from his previous job. It is evidently a dangerous mission as all those in a position to harm the bank meet with a variety of timely "accidents."
With his colleague dead, Salinger is partnered by Manhattan district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) who joins him in what becomes a truly international investigation that does wonders for their air miles as they visit such places as Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Turkey on the trail of evidence on which to indict the IBBC.
Owen is dependably sound as Salinger, sporting a ruggedly disheveled look and delivering his lines in his typically cool, taciturn manner. Watts, however, is less convincing in her role of the gritty Whitman. In her defence she has little to work with in what appears more of a token role than a critical one. The most compelling performance comes from the excellent Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine) as Wilhelm Wexler, an ISSB employee whose conscience troubles him as a result of the bank's nefarious dealings.
Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run), the film's highpoint involves an inventive shoot out within the original and striking setting of New York's Guggenheim Museum (in actuality an enormous sound stage in Germany). From its name onwards, The International is a proficient rather than inspired work. There's just enough going on to stop your attention from wavering, though too little to keep you riveted. But, considering the target, we all at least share in Salinger's determination to get the baddies.
Kevin Murphy
The International is a serviceable thriller in which a bank is the bad guy being hunted down by a tenacious Interpol agent played by Clive Owen. In addition to providing the framework on which to construct a globetrotting action drama, the bank's corrupt policies form a central theme in Eric Warren Singer's script, which delivers a strong indictment of banks in general, focusing in particular on their abuse of power.
The film opens with the death of agent Louis Salinger's (Owen) partner in Berlin while the pair were investigating the International Bank of Business and Credit. Headed by Jonas Skarssen (Ulrich Thomsen), the IBBC is embroiled in a massive arms deal involving missile guidance devices. For Salinger, exposing the bank's illicit dealings has become an obsession, one that had caused him to be fired from his previous job. It is evidently a dangerous mission as all those in a position to harm the bank meet with a variety of timely "accidents."
With his colleague dead, Salinger is partnered by Manhattan district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) who joins him in what becomes a truly international investigation that does wonders for their air miles as they visit such places as Luxembourg, Germany, Italy and Turkey on the trail of evidence on which to indict the IBBC.
Owen is dependably sound as Salinger, sporting a ruggedly disheveled look and delivering his lines in his typically cool, taciturn manner. Watts, however, is less convincing in her role of the gritty Whitman. In her defence she has little to work with in what appears more of a token role than a critical one. The most compelling performance comes from the excellent Armin Mueller-Stahl (Shine) as Wilhelm Wexler, an ISSB employee whose conscience troubles him as a result of the bank's nefarious dealings.
Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run), the film's highpoint involves an inventive shoot out within the original and striking setting of New York's Guggenheim Museum (in actuality an enormous sound stage in Germany). From its name onwards, The International is a proficient rather than inspired work. There's just enough going on to stop your attention from wavering, though too little to keep you riveted. But, considering the target, we all at least share in Salinger's determination to get the baddies.
Kevin Murphy
