The International

Unbelievable picturesque locations, an outstanding action scene, but no strength in how the plot unfolded.

rating: C
stars: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts
genre: drama
year released: 2009

The International attempts to tell the story of current economic times with a twist. The story is about the evil and corruption that is brought on by an international bank attempting to take control of countries across the world by controlling debt. When Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and his kind of partner a D.A. in New York, Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Wattts) figure out what the bank is up to, they attempt to take them down. Their efforts are consistently shut down by local authorities. In their attempts to catch the people in charge they discover how widespread the banks influence is and also how far he is willing to go to catch these people. The search to catch these people takes the duo across the world, which leads to some magnificent scenery to shoot in. Owen plays an almost typical role where he is out to get everyone because the whole world is against him, but does shine in a few particular scenes. The scene with the shoot-out in the Guggenheim Museum is one of the best I have ever seen, but unfortunately the rest of the movie could not live up to that quality.

I just went and saw the film in theatres hoping to see a fast-paced action thriller. Instead I got a film with too much of a bizarre and at times confusing storyline. I usually am a huge fan of Clive Owen, but in this film he did not live up to his potential in many scenes. There was too much talking and not enough action. I was very disappointed in how they choose to put the film together, considering they had some of the most beautiful pieces of architecture, amazing landscapes and quality actors with a storyline that had potential. With all the factors mixed in it might be worth checking out if you are not concerned about the amount of action otherwise you should wait for it to come out on DVD and rent it just to watch the scene at the Guggenheim Museum. It’s one that you can’t afford to miss.