Review of The International (2009) by Samuel J — 09 Dec 2009

"Sometimes the hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn... I'm the one you burn.".

Director: Tom Tykwer.

Starring: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Ulrich Thomsen.

Running time: 119 minutes.

Country: USA, Germany, UK.

I had exceedingly high expectations for this film being a fan of Clive Owen and Naomi Watts and it seemed like a great combination between a British actor and a British actress. However, when I did see this film, I was disappointed with it. It wasn't the actors within it, it was the film itself. The film fell flat even after 10 minutes and I was very bored within that time. I was quite annoyed at it as well because when you see the trailer of the film, there is loads of action within it but there is very little of it in the film itself which is very annoying! I think because it seemed like an action film was the only reason why people wanted to watch this film but it was no action film at all, really.

Clive Owen is my favourite actor from my country and he is the reason that kept me going through this disappointment. It wasn't him or his performance that was bad, it was the lousy character and I don't think the character was developed enough. It is the first bad film that Clive Owen has been in but no bad performances from him it remains thankfully!! Naomi Watts was another reason that kept me going with this film! Her character was lousy as well and just plain which is something that I hate in a film! Personally, if Naomi Watts or especially Clive Owen weren't in this film, I would've probably called it a disaster!

Overall, The International is a bad film that I thought was rather bad and disappointing. It is one of the worst of 2009 but I personally think that it could've been a lot worse without Owen or Watts in it.