Film Review: ‘The Tourist’ Twists Predictably, Lacks Chemistry Between Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp

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CHICAGO – Though you probably don’t know his name, Christopher McQuarrie’s involvement might sell you on paying to see “The Tourist” even more than “A”-list stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp. After all, McQuarrie is the writer behind 1995’s Oscar-winning magnum opus by the name of “The Usual Suspects”.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

While these two films both embarked on the pursuit of conning you into one belief and then twisting you into another, “The Usual Suspects” masterfully succeeds in every fiber of its being while “The Tourist” can’t even play ball in the same league. And to even consider “The Tourist” as Hitchcockian would be a crime of blockbuster proportions bestowed upon the true man of mystery.

Though McQuarrie’s words might be found somewhere in this Angelina Jolie model fest, the ink from its two other writers (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Julian Fellowes) clearly snuffs away McQuarrie’s natural skill. Even Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, which we know has talent because we saw it in his German film “The Lives of Others” only four years ago, wasn’t on his “A” game in “The Tourist” as its writer and director.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “The Tourist”.

While you’re awed and mind blown for weeks thereafter because of Kevin Spacey’s climatic reveal in “The Usual Suspects,” you’re insulted in that same moment in “The Tourist”. You’re tragically underwhelmed with the mismatched Jolie/Depp pair either because you saw the twist coming since 13 minutes in or because you’re ultimately left with needing to be much more emotionally connected and elaborately hoodwinked.

Instead, you have one of Hollywood’s most common epic fails today: a couple mega stars trying to carry the weight of a weakly scripted film and failing to do so. But Depp and Jolie – whose character needed to be somewhat blemished at some point – aren’t entirely to blame. “The Tourist” should have picked a more successful film than the unknown 2005 French movie “Anthony Zimmer” from writer and director Jérôme Salle when it decided to be a remake.

Continue for Adam Fendelman’s full “The Tourist” review.

Johnny Depp (left) and Angelina Jolie in “The Tourist”.
Image credit: Peter Mountain, Columbia Pictures

Continue for Adam Fendelman’s full “The Tourist” review.