The International (Sony Pictures)
The Banker Did It
Everyday we learn more and more about the greed and evil in the banking world. Now there is a movie out that says every thing you have heard is true and it is even worse than you thought. The International puts the banking community in the middle of corrupt arms deals and terrorist activities. And all this time you thought a few bonuses were bad!
Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger, an agent for Interpol. He works closely with Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) and assistant district attorney in New York. There is a relationship between Interpol and New York but it went over my head. Suffice it to say they are both on the trail of a corrupt international bank.
The movie is a little too complex plot wise for my enjoyment but it does have some good action sequences. Especially rousing is a shoot-out in the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. The battle between the good guys and the bad guys tears this place up. The set designers and decorators must have had a field day creating this set and then breaking it down.
One major flaw of the film is that the audience never really gets a feel for the major characters. Clive Owens character is worn down and morose but you never know exactly why, whereas Watts Eleanor is a cipher from beginning to end. A little more character development would have made for a better movie, but as one woman told me when you have Clive Owen in the movie, who cares
The film is rated R for profanity and violence.
Standouts in the supporting cast are Armin Mueller-Stahl as the fixer for the banking community, and Jack McGee as Detective Bernie Ward of the New York Police Department. These two men manage to create full characters in the few scenes they are given.
Overall The International is just a run of the mill thriller. For some having Clive Owen on board adds enough spice to make it something special. For the rest of us a little more background and a more understandable plot would have made for more interest.
I scored The International a hometown 5 out of 10.
