Too much of everything

As Good As It Gets

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

I have watched this film at least five times and haven´t still quite gotten enough. It has everything going for it - a cast of stars, cinematic excellence and a script that walks the thin line between plausible and not quite plausible to build a lot of suspense. Shooting locations (no pun intended) include among others the Hagia Sophia and of course the now-legendary seven minute Uzi war in the Guggenheim Museum - surely this is no longer a spoiler! There are many scenes that could be from a Hitchcock film, for example the totally random appearance of a suspect and the resulting trailing to the Museum, suspense building inside the viewer´s head. Wide-eyed and unshaven, Clive Owen as the bewildered and pissed off main character seems straight out of North By Northwest. What´s more, the ghost of Orson Welles is even stronger than that of Hitch. After all Orson´s favorite theme of power corrupting mercilessly it´s users is the essence of Eric Warren Singer´s extremely well thought out script. There is a lot of dialogue and it´s all relevant and intelligent. Naomi Watts has a fairly limited female lead role, but she does it well. The film does not give any verbal hints about the relationship between the lead characters, yet it is obvious from the acting that there is or at least has been one. The lack of romantic nonsense earns an extra star for the International. Believe me, this is not that kind of film. Armin Mueller-Stahl is once again the old guy who actually knows what´s going on, a role he has done many times and he is again absolutely superb in it.

The International stars Clive Owen as Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent with a chequered past who investigates a powerful private bank that plays a sinister role in the sale of illegal arms, money laundering and even destabilising governments. A bank that is so powerful it will kill anyone that will get in its way or even threatens to be a liability.Salinger is assisted by Manhattan assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts). Together they globe-trot looking for evidence to take down this powerful organisation while their bosses pile pressure on them to shut their investigation down.It is a solid but lukewarm thriller which should had powerful things to say about the dog eat dog arena of global finance and destabilisation of developing countries but then realises it needs some action scenes, the best of which is the shootout at the Guggenheim museum in New York.The trouble is the fox was shot a few months earlier with the release of the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace which also dealt with a shadowy organisation. In fact both movies have a fixer called Mr White.On its own it is not a bad thriller, it is helped by its multi location shooting but apart from the Guggenheim scenes it is never going to be memorable.

Are bankers the new Nazis for the 21st Century? I only ask because the faceless, shadowy corporations they work for seem to crop up in an inordinate number of thrillers, making bankers the pin-striped version of Nazi soldiers. Only with a briefcase instead of a machine-gun. Nevertheless, they are still not to be trusted - the financial crash of 2008 made sure people wouldn't forget that in a hurry. It's little things like this that make "The International" an enjoyable watch because what might have seemed implausible before is now suddenly very real. This classy thriller is a little different to the sort of material director Tom Tykwer is drawn to and is actually very well shot indeed. Its globe-trotting location shoots and intense soundtrack make it feel like an old-fashioned spy thriller but hidden within is arguably one of the best shoot-outs I've seen since the famous Lobby scene from "The Matrix".Interpol agent Salinger (Clive Owen, looking like he's just woken up in someone else's bed) has been investigating suspicious dealings at the International Bank of Business & Credit for over two years. Just as a lead appears, his partner is possibly murdered and the lead disappears. Working alongside Manhattan Assistant DA Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), Salinger believes that the IBBC is responsible for a high number of arms deals to rogue nations, money laundering and terrorist funding but is unable to gather enough evidence. After an Italian arms manufacturer and presidential candidate (Luca Barbareschi) is assassinated by a contract killer (Brían F. O'Byrne) working for the IBBC, Salinger and Whitman follow him to New York. Can they successfully bring him in or will the IBBC get to them first?If one ignores the subtext about killing all the bankers, "The International" is a first-rate thriller that has both the intellect and firepower to really entertain. For the most part, it's a slow-burning conspiracy film that doesn't do Owen or Watts many favours - neither imbue their characters with much personality. The only things that liven the pace up are occasional chase sequences (Tykwer was responsible for the excellent "Run, Lola, Run" way back when) and brief moments of intrigue. It's as though Tykwer was saving all his energies for the shoot-out at the Guggenheim gallery which is a magnificent piece of action cinema, one of the best. Noisy, brutal and beautifully shot, it makes a mockery of most recent action films with much bigger budgets. But all too soon, it goes back to the story although you just want more gun play. The film's sentiments that the world is governed by organisations investing our money in political upheaval with nothing we can do about it is rammed home in a manner reminiscent of a Michael Moore documentary so it's a shame that Owen and Watts couldn't make me care more. What we're seeing here, I suspect, is the reason Daniel Craig was chosen to be 007 rather than Owen.I'm a little annoyed because I feel that "The International" could have been much better. It's a rare thriller that never patronises the viewer and treats them to a positively electric action sequence. It's also remarkably topical and beautifully shot - characters are dwarfed by the vast urban landscapes and cold, sterile buildings they enter. But it lacks a couple of things, namely a more engaging lead duo and a more urgent pace to the editing. Despite the action, it feels a lot slower compared to something like "The Bourne Identity" which was fast, frenetic and jam-packed with blistering action. "The International" manages intrigue by the bucket-load and just the one brilliant action scene. But it can't quite bring it all together - I still had questions at the end and personally, I hate it when that happens. The ending also felt an anti-climax although the film utilises the same rooftops of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul that Sam Mendes did in "Skyfall" and sadly, I saw that film first. I so want to score it higher than I have but I just can't. It's a great little thriller that captivates as well as it entertains and if you can forgive the faults then you'll enjoy it too.

Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) is investigating the bank IBBC for buying $200million worth of missile guidance system with the Manhattan Assistant D.A. Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts). His partner dies in an apparent sophisticated killing. Then his partner's informer is found dead. Salinger is facing many roadblocks in this international conspiracy of money laundering, arms trafficking, and political corruption. Bank chairman Jonas Skarssen (Ulrich Thomsen)'s police statement is revised. Wilhelm Wexler (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is the banker who hired the Consultant.It's a lot of tense atmospherics. However the heat is left mostly at a slow boil. The use of bankers as bad guys is an interesting twist and a fitting one for the times. This is essentially a spy thriller with bankers instead of spies. The other noticeable thing from director Tom Tykwer is that he loves to put architecture in this movie. The story is a long winding twisty thing. There is a big shootout at the Guggenheim which finally gave this movie some action energy plus the prerequisite architecture fetish. Mostly it's a fun ride for conspiracy lovers.