The International [Theatrical Release] | ![The International [Theatrical Release]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41cAZSjFeuL._SL500_.jpg)
| Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Category: Theatrical Release
This item is no longer available
Rating:  30 reviews
Language: English (Unknown)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
ASIN: B0016Q2D34
Theatrical Release Date: August 15, 2008
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
The International is actually two movies in one: A highbrow thriller about a sprawling bank that resorts to murder and arms sales to retain its power, and a sleek visual essay on how architecture and interior design shapes your perceptions. Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen, still not quite a star despite Inside Man and Children of Men) has been on the brink of conclusive evidence against the villainous international bank, but his sources always end up dead. With the aid of a Manhattan district attorney (Naomi Watts in a woefully underwritten part), he stumbles on the trail of the bank's favorite hit man, who might provide the (literally) smoking gun Louis needs. The International starts out smooth and silky, with visual style to burn and Owen's intense fervor. The plot gradually bogs down in incoherent moralizing, but along the way there are some taut sequences, including a bloody shootout in the Guggenheim Museum where alliances shift unexpectedly. But what makes The International worth seeing is director Tom Tykwer's astute eye for public space: Chic postmodern buildings, broad Italian plazas, Turkish rooftops like mountain paths--Tykwer orchestrates actors through these architectural shapes, his hypnotic visual sense creating far more tension and excitement than the plot. Also featuring Armin Mueller-Stahl (Eastern Promises) and Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration) as malevolent Europeans. --Bret Fetzer
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 Not as good as these reviews July 3, 2009
M. Gentry (Fort Worth, Texas United States)
maybe I dozed off and missed something but this movie really wasn't any good at all. Certainly not as good as the ratings it's getting here on Amazon.
I carried this movie with me on a flight and seriously, if I had another one I wouldn't have even finished it.
The gunfight people are noting from the movie is so unrealistic it's almost amazing that someone would insult your intelligence with it. Children of Men was a better Clive Owen flick and that's not saying much.
 International House of Flopcakes June 29, 2009
Derek Flint (BROOMALL, PA USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Wanted to like this.
Had one highlight - the shootout at the Guggenheim Museum.
Inconclusive ending. I hate that, after sitting through almost 2 hours of it.
Naomi Watts looked better with shorter hair in Peter Jackson's KING KONG.
Clive Owens looked better in KING ARTHUR.
This movie looks better sitting in it's DVD case than playing in your DVD player.
 I need to watch this again June 26, 2009
Borat (NJ USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Clive Owen is a good actor in my personal opinion. The International has a complex plot where he is an agent of Interpol. There are a lot of charaters and not a lot of time is spent on character development. In the closing scene of the movie, I was at a loss for who the two charaters were that were mentioned. I need to watch this movie again at least once so I can get a better idea of who is who. This was a movie that ended and the credits ran and I was like "what just happened?".
An everyday story of almost credit crunch proportions June 23, 2009
Gerry O'neill (Morrisville, NC United States)
It seems to me that the story is based on real life bank of Commerce and Credit International (BCCI) which was under investigation by several jurisdictions and had connections with terrorists.
The scope of the story is global, a fact which we are reminded of throughout the two hour film with constant images of large scale settings and buildings which dwarf the actors and the people in general. There is much symbolism and imagery throughout the movie, the gigantic scale and complexity representing global banking and finance, as well as the overarching power with multinational banks were able to exert over the developed nations through their recycling of petrodollars into loans for third world governments.
The complexities are also shown to work against national governments and international organisations who owe their ability to act to treaties which circumscribe their abilities to investigate such huge corporations yet which at the same time permit the same financial conglomerates to obscure their dealings to hide slush funds and expenditure on almost anything you like. The ability of the conglomerates to exert power and influence both across borders and within political and investigative agencies without any aparent restraint is highlighted. As it is there are links to Godfather III The Godfather Part III - The Coppola Restoration with the imputation of a mafia or cosa nostra assassin at the conclusion of the story.
As for the actors and the plot this is a pretty strong cast. Clive Owen is a clever choice for a variety of reasons. For me the choice is most apt given Owens role in the television show Chancer where strangely enough the setting was also mainly in the finacial world Chancer - Series 1. Naomi Watts Eastern Promises (Widescreen Edition) plays a convincing role as an American public official who goes out on a limb in pursuing the investigation but who also helps to establish the extent of the reach of the bank's central decision making body.
The story meanders a bit but there again, that in itself is not a negative aspect. In a way it fits in with the overall view of a global strategy like a huge chess puzzle only, like American "Football" where the pieces are people. The meandering and philosophical nature of the film also suggests slow and deliberate contemplation of moves and trying to win the war before it begins.
Overall I enjoyed the movie as a piece of cerebral entertainment though I suspect that for a lot of people they would rather have more action and more of the guy getting the girl. Oh well.
 Brilliant! - How the World Really Works 101 June 20, 2009
H. A Huffman (Mt. Prospect, IL USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The International really surprised me. It made no ripples in the theatres, very little press or fanfare, so I did not pay too much attention to it. Now it is on DVD and I am glad that I gave it a shot.
A few notes:
- Don't expect a whole bunch of car chases and gunfights, there is some action, but its not that kind of movie.
- "Conspiracy Theory" haters (sheep), keep watching Obama swatting flies and skip this movie, it will only scare and confuse you; unless you want to start waking up.
This film is particularly salient now that everybody is losing their jobs and savings due to an accounting trick ("You owe 1 trillion dollars.."). The International is a great thriller because it uses reality as a basis for its fiction.
Clive Owen plays an Interpol agent investigating the actions of an international banking cartel. Naturally, witnesses start dying and government officials start stonewalling - sounds alot like our SEC pals. The bank is getting involved in "nation building", also known as loading nations with debt then siphoning away all of their assets. Sound familiar?
Anyway, besides being a textbook example of the global banker's playbook, the international has some great cinematography and some good acting. Well worth your time and $$. Get it before the hyper-inflation kicks in!
|
|
|
