For a high-stakes, fast-paced conspiracy tale with gorgeous international settings, "The International" is a surprisingly dumb movie. Clichés are rife. Nonsense is rife, too. I can't imagine anybody sitting through this without having several "what were they thinking?" moments... The screenwriter in particular seems to have had trouble weeding out the good ideas from the bad.
Having said that, it's still a good popcorn movie because the direction is dynamic, the locales are pretty and the actors non-intrusive. Yes, that's damning with faint praise, but Watts and Owen don't seem terribly inspired by the one-sided characters they're portraying.
Oh, bonus points for shooting scenes in modern Istanbul... You'd be surprised how few modern movies have found their way to this vibrant city with its beautiful hues.
Having said that, it's still a good popcorn movie because the direction is dynamic, the locales are pretty and the actors non-intrusive. Yes, that's damning with faint praise, but Watts and Owen don't seem terribly inspired by the one-sided characters they're portraying.
Oh, bonus points for shooting scenes in modern Istanbul... You'd be surprised how few modern movies have found their way to this vibrant city with its beautiful hues.