Review of The International (2009) by Drew S — 06 Dec 2009

The International is notably handsome, almost to the point of seeming like a glossy perfume advertisement, and is commendable for its lack of ridiculous action scenes (short of a flashy, ostentatious but at least engaging shootout at the Guggenheim) and over-the-top superhero characters. But really...I'm sort of horrified that they put Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, and Tom Tykwer in a room together and THIS is what came out. There is no personality to this film. Not a drop. It's a rote, competent, completely exsanguinated tale about big bad capitalism and that roguish lone-wolf investigator with his attractive token partner trying to take the Man down. We don't get any more character development than Naomi Watts Has a Family and Clive Owen Fucked Up One Time, and the movie is serious to a fault. Though I do appreciate a film that's willing to be complex/mature and politically wordy, most of the time it felt like I was following a trail of expository bread crumbs from one plot point to the next. There are no real rewards to be found in watching this. It felt like I was enjoying the movie in fits, up until the final half hour, when Naomi Watts is randomly cast out of the picture and I'd given up any hope of the characters becoming more than faces reacting to revelations. It's no wonder this failed - not flashy and explosive enough for audiences, no real human material or substance for critics. I don't think the adult thriller is dead quite yet, but if efforts like this keep coming down the pipe, then it will be soon.

You're better off reading a travelogue.