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The International (2009)

Director: Tom Tykwer

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From Time Out New York

German filmmaker Tom Tykwer never saw a glass partition he didn’t want to film, yet there’s something bracing about watching his reflex glossiness (see Run Lola Run, Heaven) applied to a pure genre exercise. This particular Parallax View knockoff has been directed with an almost mathematical sleekness: The gods always descend on cue, and the gripping central set piece answers the question “How many people can trail an assassin around the Guggenheim without being spotted?”

Still, even classed up with Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, the story—inspired by an actual late-’80s/early-’90s scandal—seems slightly confused and dated; with idiots getting fat off bailouts, the idea of bankers who command global hit squads suggests a competence worthy of nostalgia. Owen, sporting permanent two-day stubble, plays a traumatized Interpol agent; New York assistant district attorney Watts tags along, mainly for the purpose of having her jurisdiction questioned at every stop.

The International is strongest when it concentrates primarily on the nuts and bolts of intrigue, teaching us how to size up crime scenes and analyze the finer points of footprints. But first-time screenwriter Eric Warren Singer also leans heavily on contrivance. “Talk to me after the speech,” a politician advises our heroes, the better to give the villains an opportunity to shoot him. With plot devices like that, it’s amazing how far style will go.

Author: Ben Kenigsberg 2009-02-10 17:37:47

Time Out New York Issue 698: February 12 - 18, 2009

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User reviews of this film

  • Stav said...
    Posted on Feb 16 2009 22:15 The best part in watching this movie was that it made me laugh for about two minutes straight. Not exactly what I expected from a conspiracy-espionage movie, but certainly one of the best laughs I've had in years; it happened when Clive Owen released yet another devastating cliche of a sentence, seconds after I pointed out to my partner who watched with me that the script sounds like a collection of all-time-favourites from American films. Sadly, the whole movie wasn't entertaining at all. The plot was chewed-up and every move was explained in tedious manner; no annoying couples in the movie theater needed to explain the moves because they were so obvious. I felt like I was in the "Idiot's Guide to Espionage Films".
    The only likely explanation to Owen's angry face is that he was put out by the poorly-written dialouges. The music was out-of-touch with the rhythm of the scenes, and the plot wandered between side characters to no avail and without creating any true feelings for either of them.
    All in all, it was a movie that seemed as if it went on for three hours, completely incohesive and not with a single sex scene or car chase (that would not have compensated for anything.) A few stunning views are far from being worth the time.
    Final thought: It seemed like the best idea the movie makers could come up with was "Hey, let's do an action scene at the Gugenheim! That would be cool!". Well, that's not a bad idea, but please make sure that the police don't take 8 minutes to reach the scene, and that for no apparent reason the assassin will join forces with his chaser, and really, just save the money and don't make a movie that looks like a Bourne movie on Prozac.
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The International

Cast & crew

Director: Tom Tykwer

Cast: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen, Brian F O'Byrne full cast

Rated: R

Duration: 118 mins

US Release: Feb 13 2009


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