"A Masterful Thriller"
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Watch:
What You Need To Know:
THE INTERNATIONAL is riveting. The movie also is provocative, dealing with issues that are both timely and universal. Clive Owen does a super job playing the haggard, earnest, Interpol agent. Naomi Watts is excellent as the intelligent, diligent attorney. There are strong obscenities and bloody shootings (especially in the intense gun battle) that merit real caution. The other moral points are generally good, with a positive view of American law enforcement workers. THE INTERNATIONAL is superb filmmaking. It will put you on the edge of your seat.
Content:
(BB, PP, LL, VVV, S, N, A, D, M) Strong moral worldview with a strong positive view of American law enforcement workers, plus some discussion in a couple places about international banking and one villain’s former involvement with Communist regimes in Eastern Europe that may be politically ambiguous, though it was hard to tell as the movie was playing, but movie seems to argue for government regulation of banking activities, which could be interpreted in a socialist or a capitalist way, depending on one’s viewpoint; about 26 obscenities (including eight or nine “f” words), two strong profanities, four light profanities, and man vomits and collapses after being given a deadly poison; action violence includes a chase scene, woman breaks her arm after being run down by a car, an assassination, two other men murdered in a contract hit, and very strong violence with some blood occurs in an intense and elaborate gunfight scene in a museum; married woman attorney asks disheveled, intense Interpol agent when was the last time he “got laid” and man jokingly asks if she’s offering, but nothing happens because woman is clearly devoted to her husband and child despite any implied attraction she may feel for the other man; upper and rear male nudity on a corpse; alcohol use; some smoking; and, money laundering, bank has its own hit squad and tries to manipulate governments, Interpol agent decides to do an illegal wiretap on villains so he can feed special information to the buyers in an illegal arms deal that would ruin the deal for the villains, and hitmen threaten museum visitors.
More Detail:
THE INTERNATIONAL is a brilliantly executed, suspenseful thriller. People will be talking about the big gunfight in the second act for years to come.
The movie opens in Berlin, where Interpol Agent Louis Salinger’s partner is meeting with an informant who works at a one of the world’s most powerful banks. Apparently, the bank is involved in laundering money, arms trafficking, murder, and even support of terrorism. As Louis watches helplessly, his partner gets out of the informant’s car and suddenly collapses and dies.
Lou suspects foul play, and his suspicions are confirmed. He teams up with Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman in New York, who has also been investigating the bank with the FBI.
Their investigation leads them to the head of an Italian company, who refused to do business with the bank regarding a missile deal in the Middle East and is running for office to battle corruption. Before the man can help them, however, the bank’s paid assassin kills him at a political rally in Milan.
Lou and Eleanor follow the assassin’s trail to New York. A big gunfight at the Guggenheim Museum leads Lou to take matters into his own hands, starting with an unauthorized wiretap. He gets more than he expected, however.
THE INTERNATIONAL is absolutely riveting. The action is both suspenseful and thrilling. The movie also is provocative, dealing with issues that are both timely and universal. Clive Owen does a super job of playing the haggard, but earnest, Interpol agent. Naomi Watts is excellent as the intelligent, diligent attorney.
Except for the intense gunfight at the museum, the action violence in THE INTERNATIONAL is not very strong or graphic, but it is suspenseful and exciting. The movie contains plenty of foul language, and there is one crude sexual comment, followed by a light joke.
Near the end, the hero is faced with a moral dilemma. He thinks about doing a vigilante act, but hesitates and begins to do the right thing. Then, the decision is taken out of his hands. In the end, therefore, the hero remains a positive role model.
All in all, THE INTERNATIONAL is a provocative, exciting thriller most viewers will find rewarding. The strong violence, especially during the elaborate gunfight, and the crude language warrant a strong caution, however. Viewers should also know that they will sometimes have to pay close attention to the plot in order to follow everything. This viewer did not find that an insurmountable problem, but others might.
