KATHMANDU: The International has a bank as villain which comes near to proving that the BCCI scandal could very well happen again. As indeed many people feel it’s happening now.
As Pete Hammond says, “Looking like it was ripped from the headlines; The International focuses on the corrupt dealings of a fictional bank that will go to any means possible to serve as a conduit for illegal weapons sales to people who shouldn’t be getting them. Enter an Interpol agent (Clive Owen), who is teamed with a New York assistant District Attorney (Naomi Watts) to go after a network of suave, crafty Europeans bent on carrying out their dirty business as they always have. Following their trail around the world in such locales as Berlin, Italy, New York and Istanbul, the two become targets in an unending high stakes game of murder and intrigue.
Looking more unkempt and unshaven than ever, Owen totally connects with the role of an eccentric agent who stumbles on to a worldwide conspiracy which eventually leads to a group of corrupt bankers. Who knew? It makes you realise what an ideal James Bond he would have been.
German director Tom Tywker, who broke out with the riveting and stylish Run Lola Run 10 years ago, has his best outing since that film, carefully navigating the numerous and colourful locations with just enough pacing and attention to detail to keep this from turning into yet another Bourne rip-off. He seems totally in control of the complicated and dense storyline, pulling off a sensational set piece at New York’s Guggenheim Museum (actually meticulously re-created in a Berlin warehouse), where Owen gets involved in a shootout to end all shootouts with numerous bad guys. It’s a stunning scene, running about 15 minutes — and a textbook example of how to shoot an action sequence. It’s reminiscent of some of the best cold war spy thrillers of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and that’s a high compliment. See it.”
The British perspective by Chris Hicks is, “If the latest Bond instalment left you cold, Tom Tykwer’s unexpectedly electrifying spy thriller offers more than a quantum of solace.
Starring one-time 007 candidate Clive Owen as an Interpol agent pitting his wits against a Luxembourg bank that’s writing cheques for terrorists, The International is a globe-hopping Ipcress File for the credit crunch age.
Things kick off in Berlin, with Louis Salinger (Owen) the powerless witness at
the broad-daylight murder of his partner, who has been sniffing around the bank’s dodgy dealings.
Determined to bring the organisation to justice, Salinger joins sides with US District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts). Their investigations lead them to an electioneering Italian politico who’s tried
to dish the dirt on the bank once before, only to find his chief witness fatally silenced.
It’s moments before he goes the way of silence himself, taken out by a sniper during a rally in Milan. Central European locations with the chill of the Cold War. Faceless multinational companies who will stop at nothing to conceal their corruption.
There’s no wisecracking to let us off the hook after the movie’s undoubted highlight, a scorching shoot-’em-up at the Guggenheim in New York, with Salinger getting more than he bargained for after trailing the sniper to the gallery. And, as the place erupts in a hailstorm of machine-gun fire that lasts longer than is comfortable, it’s as if Michael Mann has stepped behind the camera.”
As Pete Hammond says, “Looking like it was ripped from the headlines; The International focuses on the corrupt dealings of a fictional bank that will go to any means possible to serve as a conduit for illegal weapons sales to people who shouldn’t be getting them. Enter an Interpol agent (Clive Owen), who is teamed with a New York assistant District Attorney (Naomi Watts) to go after a network of suave, crafty Europeans bent on carrying out their dirty business as they always have. Following their trail around the world in such locales as Berlin, Italy, New York and Istanbul, the two become targets in an unending high stakes game of murder and intrigue.
Looking more unkempt and unshaven than ever, Owen totally connects with the role of an eccentric agent who stumbles on to a worldwide conspiracy which eventually leads to a group of corrupt bankers. Who knew? It makes you realise what an ideal James Bond he would have been.
German director Tom Tywker, who broke out with the riveting and stylish Run Lola Run 10 years ago, has his best outing since that film, carefully navigating the numerous and colourful locations with just enough pacing and attention to detail to keep this from turning into yet another Bourne rip-off. He seems totally in control of the complicated and dense storyline, pulling off a sensational set piece at New York’s Guggenheim Museum (actually meticulously re-created in a Berlin warehouse), where Owen gets involved in a shootout to end all shootouts with numerous bad guys. It’s a stunning scene, running about 15 minutes — and a textbook example of how to shoot an action sequence. It’s reminiscent of some of the best cold war spy thrillers of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and that’s a high compliment. See it.”
The British perspective by Chris Hicks is, “If the latest Bond instalment left you cold, Tom Tykwer’s unexpectedly electrifying spy thriller offers more than a quantum of solace.
Starring one-time 007 candidate Clive Owen as an Interpol agent pitting his wits against a Luxembourg bank that’s writing cheques for terrorists, The International is a globe-hopping Ipcress File for the credit crunch age.
Things kick off in Berlin, with Louis Salinger (Owen) the powerless witness at
the broad-daylight murder of his partner, who has been sniffing around the bank’s dodgy dealings.
Determined to bring the organisation to justice, Salinger joins sides with US District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts). Their investigations lead them to an electioneering Italian politico who’s tried
to dish the dirt on the bank once before, only to find his chief witness fatally silenced.
It’s moments before he goes the way of silence himself, taken out by a sniper during a rally in Milan. Central European locations with the chill of the Cold War. Faceless multinational companies who will stop at nothing to conceal their corruption.
There’s no wisecracking to let us off the hook after the movie’s undoubted highlight, a scorching shoot-’em-up at the Guggenheim in New York, with Salinger getting more than he bargained for after trailing the sniper to the gallery. And, as the place erupts in a hailstorm of machine-gun fire that lasts longer than is comfortable, it’s as if Michael Mann has stepped behind the camera.”
