Clive Owen goes international in his dogged pursuit of a terrorist banking group. He’s joined by Naomi Watts, but her role is so underwritten that it could’ve been jettisoned entirely.
Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) is awaiting his partner, who is meeting with an informant of the International Bank of Business and Credit, the IBBC. Salinger is an ex-Scotland Yard agent who is trying to uncover terrorist funding activity in the bank.
The powerful bank framed Salinger and killed the informant that he had uncovered when he was with the Yard, so Salinger is obsessed with bringing the bank down. On the walk back across the street from meeting with the anonymous informant Salinger’s partner is mysteriously killed and the informant soon follows in death.
Salinger reports back to assistant district attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) that their case against IBBC has hit a snag. The duo goes to see Italian prime minster candidate Umberto Calvini (Luca Barbareshci) who also runs an armament company, but the IBBC arranges an assassination.
IBBC consultant Wilhelm Wexler (Armin Mueller-Stahl) recommends to IBBC chairman Jonas Skarssen (Ulrich Thomsen) that it might be time to use their assassin (Brian F. O’Byrne) to take out Salinger as he’s getting too close for comfort.
The International owes much to previous films such as The French Connection (1971) and the Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). The poster and trailer might highlight the action but it’s more of a thinking picture and ends on a somewhat down note. It’s definitely not James Bond as the futility of taking on profitable entities shows that another head of the hydra will arise once you’ve cut one of them off.
The film also owes much to Clive Owen’s portrayal of the obsessed agent (this and the futility show in the ending is what brought the Spy Who Came in from the Cold to my mind). In less politically correct times, we might not have seen the character played by Naomi Watts even appearing in the film.
I felt that this character was put in there to attract the female demographic, given that she’s not given much to do and her character could’ve been left out, in fact she disappears during the finale, and the film would’ve been fine without her.
She’s not to integral to the plot in other words. There is some action, including a wonderful action sequence in the Guggenheim Museum in New York, but it’s more about dialogue as the character discuss the intricacies of the banking world, pursuit of money, and the futility of trying to get people to stop pursing it. Though Watts’ character is superfluous, the cast is full of fine character actors.
Mueller-Stahl always provides a fine performance and everyone else is also cast well.
The International is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.40:1). Special features include a commentary with director Tom Tykwer and writer Eric Singer. “The International Experience” is a picture-in-picture provides production detail during the film, provided you have a Profile 1.1 player that can handle PiP. Special features are in high definition unless noted.
There’s also an extended scene (11 minutes), a 30 minute making of, the 6 minute “Shooting at the Guggenheim” (standard definition) details how they recreated the museum for the scene, the 6 minute “Architecture of the International” shows how modern architecture plays a role in the film, and the 5 minute “Autostadt” is about the Volkswagen location doubled for the IBBC headquarters.
The disc is also BD-Live enhanced so you can go online for other goodies (that is if your player is capable of doing so). Disc two is a digital copy for your PC or portable device.
The International doesn’t go the route of the usual action-packed spy thriller and ends on a down note. However, Clive Owen plays the rumbled, burnt out spy well and is supported by the other character actors. Naomi Watts is given star billing but not much to do. If you’re expecting James Bond you’ll go away disappointed though.
The International [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
USA
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