The International

Sometimes, when reading comments and discussions about movies, I think about how the endless offer of TV programs and the digital era, which allows for downloading and thus flooding viewers, has spoiled us movie fans and led to a feeling of saturation. New movies and TV shows that can't rely on a sense of nostalgia thus lose the advantage of shows seen in childhood, and often they only receive average reviews, even though they are very well made. The International is not one of those groundbreaking films that will be discussed and quoted in professional journalism, and leading critics will not write lengthy essays about it. However, it is a well-executed genre film, which, from my point of view, is catapulted into the four-star category by Owen's charisma and his top-notch passionate acting. True, the screenplay is not groundbreaking, but it also does not contain any logical inconsistencies or plot holes. It has quality dialogues, decent character psychology and convincing motivations, and a thrilling shootout in a museum that even a top action movie would not be ashamed of. In short, I have no reason to give it less than an overall impression of 75%. (06/09/2014)

Tykwer definitively becomes a polymath who can inventively shoot any genre, but this time I can't fathom it from his hand. The guide to the world of frauds does it with ease, but at the same time, every time the viewer catches up with the screenwriter in twists and turns, it adds another twist and shows that this time it won't lend a helping hand to those lagging behind. Positive impressions are mainly gained by Clive Owen, once again in the role of an indefatigable hitchhiker. In his performance, the perfectly escalating shootout without exaggeration becomes a legendary scene. (19/10/2009)

A relatively low-budget spy flick in a fast style, with a rather raw and minimalist execution and likeable main characters. It lacks the typical American grandeur, filters, and glitz, but on the other hand, we get great shootouts that in a way are very inventive. The talking parts are not as interesting, but, the fluff is necessary here as well. Respectably mastered craftsmanship. (19/09/2009)

I had simply perceived Tykwer's film as a classic "spy" thriller, which seems to have been made in the 1960s or 1970s, when the genre was particularly favored. I didn't really (consciously, at least) focus on which direction the characters were moving and which cameras were moving, and I "just" watched the well-chosen locations, the suspenseful story development, the sympathetically scruffy Clive Owen, the sympathetically un-scruffy Naomi Watts, and the masterful Mueller-Stahl, and I was blissful that the script wasn't as stupid as most contemporary thrillers.... And that was enough for me, actually. The fact that there is a lot of talking in The International is not a bad thing, and one truly “action" scene (the bombastic shootout in the Guggenheim Museum, which was probably built for this sequence) is also quite enough. (28/06/2012)

Wonderful shots of all sorts of things without any screenplay worth speaking of. What surprised me most is that they managed to talk both Clive Owen and Naomi Watts into doing this, because this dumb, over-combined movie simply doesn’t deserve them. If it weren’t for the actors, Tykwer’s eye for captivating shots and the untraditional music, The International would be slopping around in international waste waters. (27/05/2009)