Banks are a prime target to be cast as villains right now, what with the US economy in tattered ruins, predatory lending practices at an all-time high, and multi-millionaire CEO's using our tax dollars to fund high priced field trips to exotic locales. That's understandable. Every few years one group or another takes the forefront in our collective minds as unrepetant shit heels. In the 80's it was the Russians. The 90's and early 2000's had Middle Easterners(it didn't matter from where as long as they were brown people, it seemed), and now in 2008 it's the Fat Cats. But bankers per se don't necessarily make compelling villains. It's a problem that Clive Owen and Naomi Watts' The International struggles with and ultimately loses to.
The International Bank is one of the largest in the world. Like other banks, it dabbles in various other interests: home mortages, insurance, funding international terrorists, assasinations, supporting violent regime change in third world countries, etc. When a whistle blower threatens to expose them to the media, the reporter is killed mere feet away from Interpol agent Louis Sallinger(Owen). Sallinger, a grim intense man with a checkered history, sets his sights on finishing the work his friend had started by bringing the bank's members to justice. Aided by Manhattan Assistant DA Eleanor Whitman(Watts), the two set out to gather evidence.
Ofcourse you can imagine that their investigation hits something of a brick wall. Dealing with men of such strong influence, every avenue Sallinger and Whitman pursue is met by someone who's been paid off. It's amazing the level of foresight some of these empty suits have, as they have apparently bought off even the most random people that even MIGHT be approached by authorities. In fact, their investigation is no more convincing than Inspector Clousseau's in Pink Panther 2, and with equal levels of danger. I never felt for a second that anybody was at risk, which is a pretty big gaffe for a...y'know, a suspense movie.
Movies like this don't realize just how high of a mountain they have to climb just to just qualify as "interesting". You'd expect that a suspense film of this nature would take full advantage of it's star power, utilizing Owen for the stoic heroic figure that we've seen in other films(Children of Men especially). He's no less a man on a mission here, but he's given precious little to do here other than look like he's mildly constipated. Other than one amazing action sequence in the Guggenheim, featuring one of the best gunfights and attempted escapes I've seen in years, the bulk of the film consists of bland conversations with stuffy old men in drab office rooms. Naomi Watts might as well have not even been involved as she brought absolutely nothing to the table here other than her good looks. She's basically written out of the story 2/3 of the way in and it never misses a beat, nor is her presence missed.
Last week I stated that this would undoubtedly be a good film, and apparently I was very wrong. Your humble critic is not infallible, it seems. I know, shocker!!! This isn't the worst film, it looks good and the acting is solid if uninspiring. It features one great sequence, but ultimately seems bored with it's own lack of forward momentum. Even the final showdown(Owen vs. a friggin' banker on a rooftop hurling threats at eachother) holds no payoff and we're treated to lame newspaper clippings showing any real results. Lazy! I'm hoping Owen and Watts can team up for something a little more meaty in the future, because The International is all skin and gristle.
5/10
