Clive Owen, Naomi Watts Fail to Save Deadly Dull ‘The International’

CHICAGO – Tom Tykwer [10]’s “The International [9],” an alleged thriller starring Clive Owen [5] and Naomi Watts [8], is one of the most surprisingly inert films so far this year, an awfully written conspiracy flick that never gets out of neutral and is only remotely worth someday seeing for one fantastic action sequence.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Playing off the current fears about privacy and the control of worldwide corporations, writer Eric Warren Singer tries to blend modern paranoia with the genre of the action thriller, but ends up writing a film that is somehow both overly complicated and shockingly predictable at the same time.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “The International” in our reviews section. [11]

With a plot that’s either impossible to follow or merely so dull that I stopped trying, “The International” drowns a solid set-up, talented cast, and one great action set-piece in a tide of nonsensical drama about one man’s battle against a corrupt banking behemoth.

That man is Louis Salinger (Clive Owen), an Interpol investigator who is on the verge of breaking a worldwide conspiracy wide open. An informant at a world banking power is about to reveal that his company has been buying up missile guidance systems. Of course, within minutes of the opening credits both Louis’ partner and their contact is dead, leaving a frustrated Louis back at square one.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “The International” review. [11]

Photo credit: Jay Maidment/Columbia Pictures