Even with a lack of an equally talented co-star, Clive Owen is able to suck the audiences into a world of capitalism and weapons dealing.
“The International” is about Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) who was once a detective for Scotland Yard, until the case on IBBC Bank brought his career to an end. The bank, with its large amounts of money and high power, decided that they also wanted to dabble their investments in buying and selling weapons, such as missiles, to war-faring countries. Now, Salinger is an Interpol agent who is determined to bring the same bank to justice with the help of Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts).
Unfortunately for them, every time they seem to get a lead, such as an employee of the bank who’s ready to give information, he or she suddenly disappears or dies in some sort of accident. Convenient for the bank, huh? This case takes them all over the world: Germany, France, Italy and of course New York City. This chain of assorted events continues through most of the movie, until a gruesome gun fight reveals a certain turn and the last scenes of Eleanor Whitman. Salinger then starts to go after the men responsible and sees to it that one way or another they are all brought to justice, even though it might cost him “collateral damage.”
Sometimes the details of the crimes may be a little difficult to follow, but the general plot of “The International” is pretty straightforward. Even though Watts gave award-winning performances in “The Ring” and “King Kong,” it didn’t seem like she did her best for this one, which is a bit surprising. Some may think that even though she doesn’t have the light shining on her, she would at least give a B-rated performance. However, her supporting role isn’t all that supportive.
Thankfully, the creators decided not to go with the common occurrence of a man and a woman working together on a case and falling in love with each other. They decided to keep the audience’s focus on Owen, whose performance may not win him an Oscar but still deeply intrigues the audience to divulge in his own obsession on the case. His obsession seems desperate, at first, because he cannot seem to hang on to a reliable and alive source of information. After the gun fight, however, his character seems to take a dark turn with his obsession, feeling almost maniacal. But of course, even with this almost sinister turn, audiences still cheer on the downward spiraling hero, who decides to go outside of the justice system to give his opponents what they deserve.
Even after the final scene has been declared, many shouldn’t be ready to rush out of the theater. To get a more conclusive ending, there are newspaper headlines that tell the events that later happen. This was definitely a refreshing change from the usual scenes of the remaining heroes gathered together to discuss what will happen to their adversaries and whether they agree with it or not. This different method still shows the audience what happened but lets them figure out for themselves without bluntly telling them. All in all, “The International” is a refreshing change from the usual stipulations and events that happen in most thriller movies.
