homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Weekend





Subscriber content preview

February 13, 2009

At the Movies: 'International' a stylish thriller with unexpected substance

By CHRISTY LEMIRE
AP Movie Critic

“The International” is equal parts globe-trotting thriller and architecture porn, as perfectly crystallized by its mind-blowing central set piece: a seemingly endless shootout at the Guggenheim Museum.

The back story of how Tom Tykwer and Co. shot it is about as complicated as the plot of the film itself. The scene is so elaborate and ambitious — and stands so totally apart from everything else that happens — it's enough to make you wonder whether the earliest nugget of Eric Warren Singer's script began with the idea: “Hey, this sounds crazy, but what if we staged a big, bloody shootout along Frank Lloyd Wright's famously pristine, white ramps?”

THE INTERNATIONAL

Director: Tom Tykwer

Cast: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Brian F. O’Byrne

Rating: R for some sequences of violence and language

Running time: 118 minutes


 
. . .


To read this story in full login or purchase a subscription.



Previous columns:



Email or user name:
Password:
 
Forgot password? Click here.