Review of The Tourist (2010) by Diego D — 05 Apr 2013

Made to find someone who looks like her wanted lover, Angelina Jolie chooses Johnny Depp, and lands him in a world of trouble with those after her lover. But slowly Johnny Depp's character falls in love with Jolie, and problems arise. Who will Jolie choose? Depp, the math teacher, or her wanted lover? In the end, she's left not having a choice. And that leads to my problem with this film.

The film maker did a good job making Jolie look fabulous, and the shots of Venice were really nice, but even these ups could not save the film from the plot; especially its uninspired ending.

Jolie and Depp had absolutely no chemistry. Depp seemed to really want to make the film better than it was. He was pulling his weight, attempting to play his part well, but he's left hanging by an emotionless Jolie who doesn't show a bit of emotion 'til the end, when the audience begins to stop caring. No matter how good they made her look, apparently the director couldn't bring a performance out of her.

If the film had anything going for it, it was the anticipation to find out exactly who Jolie's lover was. Throughout the film he's talked about many times, and I was waiting to see what Jolie's decision was going to be. Depp's character or her lover. But that ran dry when the "twist" is revealed leaving me shaking my head saying, "of course he did." If a script writer ever ran out of ideas, this was the ending he/she would choose. An easy ticket to just finish the script and be done with it.

The Tourist attempts to be a sleek, romantic, action film. But its plot (especially the ending) is nothing but a joke.