The International

Ein solider, paranoider Spionagefilm mit einer ausgezeichneten Schießerei, in dem ein bisschen zu viel gequatscht wird. Der Charakter der Figuren wird nicht besonders detailliert dargestellt, umso mehr freut man sich aber über die aussagekräftige Körpersprache von Clive Owen. Die Rolle des Agenten passt zu ihm perfekt. Naomis Gesicht hat nur einen Marketing-Sinn, auf dem Plakat. Die Handlung ist ziemlich kompliziert, ich fand sie aber interessant. Sie ist fesselnd und wird von einer leisen, pulsierenden elektronischen Musik begleitet (dem Publikum macht es einfach Spaß, einem sympathischen und mutigen Kerl die Daumen zu drücken, der gegen die mächtigsten Manipulanten der Welt kämpft). In dem Film gibt es auch ein architektonisch überwältigendes Haus auf der Klippe – wie in einem James-Bond-Film. Es ist kein neuer Die Bourne Identität entstanden und Michael Clayton ist mehr in die Tiefe gegangen. Diesen kommerziellen Auftrag von Tykwer kann man mit Pollacks Die Dolmetscherin vergleichen. (03.03.2009)

Tom Tykwer, clearly impressed by the recent "Bond films" and the "Bourne Trilogy," decided to make his own contribution to the theme of lone agents standing up to powerful multinational organizations, and the result is a very unconventional, yet impressive spectacle. Although the characters are in constant motion, the locations change and the plot moves along briskly. Tykwer's storytelling is surprisingly sparing, slightly distant (the almost fetishistic emphasis on modern architecture), and relatively slow-paced (except for the unique shootout, which is unparalleled). Yet, amazingly, it all works. After seeing a film like this, one can only get the impression that banks are the evil of this world - if one has forgotten that they caused the current economic crisis. :) PS: The reference to The Jackal pleased me. Power. (20.06.2009)

A bureaucracy bound James Bond from the financial world. Tykwer approaches this untraditionally, almost unwatchably. I was expecting something like Michael Clayton in a different environment with scores of attractive locations. And I got Michael Clayton in a different atmosphere with scores of attractive locations. The only action scene is absolutely fantastic (not just due to the choice of locations), but it is completely out of place in this movie. A calm, serious tempo where even the nerve-racking chases happen at brisk walking pace and all of a sudden we get an action movie like from John Woo, and with humor to boot! And then a return to the slow, but in no way boring tempo. If the Whitman character weren’t so superfluous and those several rather laughable genre clichés (it applies that they might not have mattered in a different movie, but here they are simply eyesores), then I would have enjoyed Tykwer’s idea of a thriller, and raised no objections. (29.03.2009)

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)

While it looks like an action-packed romp, except that it's not action, unless you count the shootout in the gallery, which is the only one that really caught my attention. Otherwise? Not that great. I'd give it 2 stars, but because it ends quite realistically and believably, indeed it's all pretty believable in general (their injuries, for example – they really are injured, they go to the doctor and don't miraculously recover from their injuries in the next scene). So I really appreciate that about this film. Then there's also my favorite actor starring – another plus. The romance wasn't there, which may be a shame for the viewer's attention span, but maybe that's what really makes the film more believable... anyway, check it out if you like Clive and if you like the worker ant wanting to bring down the supervillain corporation. (05.03.2010)

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)

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)

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)

Ich bin froh, dass ich hier in den Rezensionen so viele wichtige Ratschläge und Empfehlungen gefunden habe, wie ich diesen Film am besten genießen soll… Ich bin froh, dass ich mir zuerst den Film angeschaut habe und erst dann die Rezensionen las… Und dass mir The International auch so super gut gefallen hat. Tykwers Film habe ich als einen klassischen "Spionagethriller“ wahrgenommen, der so wirkt, als ob er in den 60er oder 70er Jahren entstanden wäre, der Blütezeit dieses Genres. Darauf, in welche Richtung sich die Figuren und die Kameras bewegen, habe ich mich wirklich nicht (zumindest nicht bewusst) konzentriert. Ich habe "nur“ die gut ausgewählten Orte, die spannende Entwicklung der Geschichte, den sympathisch schäbigen Clive Owen, die nicht schäbige Naomi Watts und den Meister Mueller-Stahl beobachtet. Ich habe mich sehr darüber gefreut, dass das Drehbuch nicht so dumm (stellen Sie sich vor, die beiden küssen sich nicht!) wie bei den meisten Thrillern ist, die heutzutage gedreht werden… Und das hat mir eigentlich gereicht. Ich fand es überhaupt nicht schlimm, dass in The International viel geredet wird. Eine richtige Actionszene (die bombastische Schießerei im Guggenheim – ich hatte den Eindruck, dass es nur für diese Sequenz gebaut wurde) reicht völlig aus. (28.06.2012)

(SPOILER ALERT) Though The International is remembered by most for its atypical pacing, architectural tourism, and a shootup of that hideous confectionery abomination known as the Guggenheim (if all of that building had been taken down it would totally have been worth five stars), for me personally the most interesting thing about it was the bizarrely disillusioning script, which is magnificently unfulfilling; if we're going to call the Bourne trilogy post-Bond, this film is post-Bourne. It does show us the same world of multinational corporations, banking networks, mafia families, and secret organizations that Clive Owen's mad dog runs around in with his laughable indomitability, but this time the script takes pains to make it clear how his efforts are basically completely pointless, as all these groups actually work it out amongst themselves without him. Crucial to this are the side characters from the Calvini family clan, who appear in the film once, are talked about a lot more, and for all we know are supposed to be the most dangerous piece of the entire arms deal the plot revolves around. But instead, they not only end up helping the protagonist, but also quietly and indirectly resolve the whole situation, seemingly to the protagonist's satisfaction; nevertheless, the outcome is that they thereby merely underline how impossible it is anymore to break into the world of behind-the-scenes financial operations from the outside, which have now spilled so far beyond the borders of nations as to have lost their form and become more slippery than ever before. (18.11.2020)

It wasn’t boring, Clive Owen is an actor I always look forward to seeing, and I usually enjoy films about the fight against unscrupulous capitalism (and banks in particular), but there were some logic holes in this story of a modern Don Quixote and his friends. I think the authors could have made a little more effort. (26.07.2019)

An average investigative action spectacle, the highlight of which is a cool shootout in a museum. Unfortunately, I found Clive Owen's "satisfaction" at the end unconvincing, which ties into the biggest problem I’ve had with this Tykwer work – the unclear or implausible motivations of the characters (and that's largely Tykwer's fault, because as we all know, action scenes are usually handled by professionals interested in punchiness and action, in such cases it is up to the director to work with the characters and try to give some credibility to their characters). Technically there's nothing to fault here, but I don't really see any transcendence, so for me it’s a slightly better average. Run, Clive, run. (16.02.2013)