Blu-ray Review: THE INTERNATIONAL (Columbia)

Mike LoManaco

Studio Name: Columbia
MPAA Rating: R
Disc/Transfer Information: 1080p High Definition; 2.40:1
Tested Audio Track: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring Cast: Clive Owen, Naomi Watts

LOMANACO'S PLOT ANALYSIS:

Can you actually believe that this title almost had me lunging toward the STOP button of my Blu-ray player less than half way through it because I thought it was so ill-paced and downright boring? It would be a colossal boast in claiming The International was one of the worst films I've seen -- before taking Editorial in Film classes or since -- but I can make the claim that it's one of the weakest motion pictures released in "quite some time." Any way you slice it, folks, it was pretty bad.

It actually was one of those films that encourages you to keep one eye on the screen and the other (if you can pull it off) on your Blu-ray player's elapsed time counter, waiting for it to end because you just don't know what the f**k was going on, or why; much like the recent Danny Craig thriller, Defiance, which is on-deck for me to review for two publications, it's a modern-day political thriller that attempts to take itself too seriously and collapses into a snail-paced mess of a plot which remains difficult to follow no matter how many breaks you take in order to make sense of it all. We've seen this recipe before; The Interpreter, The Sentinel, Vantage Point...on paper, they appeared exquisitely interesting and vaguely intriguing. On celluloid amongst screaming teenagers and texting beeps and noises, the results were spotty at best -- even if they were viewed in one's home theater.

The International makes Quantum of Solace or perhaps even Body of Lies seem easy to understand -- and that's no easy feat, believe you me. As aforementioned, the pacing Tom Tykwer sets for the film makes lethargic seem something beyond an understatement, and what's worse, the talents of two somewhat respectable actors, Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, seem to be lost with wooden material to work with. If I understood it correctly, amidst a fog of splintering sub plots, Owen plays wide-eyed, slightly paranoid Interpol agent Louis Salinger who has a connection to a man that is apparently murdered in the first scene of the film via what seems to be a poisoned cigarette. Salinger and Interpol have some kind of joint venture with Manhattan D.A. Eleanor Whitman (Watts) in which they are attempting to bring down an arms dealing ring responsible for acts of terrorism around the world. As this may smack of the organization Bond was looking for in Quantum of Solace or maybe even remind you of LeChiffre's people in Casino Royale, wait: it gets worse. Apparently, there is some G-d-like bank behind all of this, financing all of this, and making us sit through two hours of this.

By the time the film's highlight action sequence hits the screen -- a big shootout in New York's Guggenheim Museum between Owen's character, a man they're looking for and armed gunmen who make the museum into the OK Corral -- a good hour and a half has passed by. I'll tell you the truth: By the time this sequence arrived, I lost interest and plot sense. Owen's character moves around the world, tracking -- we don't really know what or who, but we keep on hearing about this bank and their involvement with selling arms to countries like Israel; his quest for justice leads him to New York City, where he teams up with a couple of NYPD detectives also looking for this guy they end up shooting it out with at the museum, until a group of armed men begin shooting at him and Owen. The action setpiece, while good, wasn't as effective as, say, the opening chase sequence in Casino Royale.

What exactly does Watts do here? She seems to be window dressing, as far as I could tell, as her character is not really given anything to work with. What's curious is that Owen's performance here can be considered haunting and effective -- he plays the Salinger character with conviction, getting more paranoid and wide-eyed as the film goes on, seeking justice against this bank in a manner vaguely reminiscent of Craig's hauntingly tormented performance in Quantum. Yet, as I mentioned, there's a poor pace and wooden style to the film that eliminates any possibility of elevating this beyond a forgettable "wannabe political/espionage thriller."

VIDEO QUALITY:

You would think given the subject matter and global atmosphere we're dealing with here would yield an excessively gritty, grainy result for the 1080p encode transfer -- surprisingly, The International comes off looking quite good and clean. There's a thin veil of grain running in the background that's evident right from the start, but it's completely acceptable and almost appropriate. Detail is what impressed me most on this transfer; while the film itself sucked, the detail on this Blu-ray was staggering at times. In a sequence that closes up on Owen's face, you can make out the empty piercing holes in one of his ears and almost count the hairs on his face, neck and those ears.

As usual, outdoor sequences benefitted the most on this 2.40:1 transfer from Columbia. Streets, trees and skies all looked naturally saturated. There were times the transfer collapsed into softness, and we've seen this on almost every BD title to date; there was a moment when a scene flashed back and forth between Owen's perspective in a dark room and the character he's speaking to and this exhibited some heavy grain and noise in the shadow areas.

Sony has had their share of success stories on the Blu format in terms of transfer quality -- Spider-Man 3, 30 Days of Night, Resident Evil: Extinction et. al. -- while not faring so well on others -- Hitch, 88 Minutes. This falls somewhere near the better end of their quality spectrum, yet not quite reference material. No matter; the film itself lacks any compelling reason to put this on your shelf.

AUDIO QUALITY:

Sony/Columbia's codec of choice on their high definition releases continues to remain Dolby TrueHD, and the 5.1 mix on The International was a somewhat forgettable experience. Save for a rainstorm sequence very early on which wrapped around the soundstage from quick rear to all channels, there wasn't much surround activity to speak of, surprisingly. The highlight of the TrueHD mix comes during the Guggenheim Museum action setpiece, where as the AK47s and handguns are duking it out, the fierce slamming of the bullets finds its way into the front channels with gut-wrenching authority. Again, surprisingly, not much gunfire spills into the rear channels for ambience support -- a couple of pings here and there ricochet off objects and then ping right behind you, but you would have expected more.

LOMANACO'S SUMMARY:

In my humble opinion, this was a forgettable action thriller/political yarn that just dragged on way too much and offered little tension or excitement. As I mentioned early on in my review for you, this could be one of those films you actually want to stop before it's over and just call it quits -- but your mileage may vary with it. I believe it was confusing, lethargic and boring to be honest. But again, to each his or her own.

LOMANACO'S RECOMMENDATIONS:

I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this as a buy, unless you truly loved or was able to appreciate in some way, The International; I will be returning the copy my editor sent me now that the reviews for it are submitted and closed with a spring in my step. Some who enjoy this genre of cinema -- which have included titles like The Sentinel, Absolute Power, The Interpreter -- may find it to be "brilliantly executed" as MovieGuide claims, but I didn't.

As always, thank you for reading everyone, and please fire away with any comments or questions!

danz1906

I tried to watch this DVD a couple of times,but never get pass the first 10mins or so.

Mike LoManaco

danz1906 wrote: »

I tried to watch this DVD a couple of times,but never get pass the first 10mins or so.

I totally agree, Danz; but we seem to be in the WILD minority on this one, based on the critical feedback I've been receiving in other mediums on the review. I thought it was horrible.

nguyendot

Well that saved me a rental.

danz1906

Keiko wrote: »

It sucked.

Im going to try to get past the first 10mins this time-NOT:eek:

Mike LoManaco

Keiko wrote: »

It sucked.

I wish I could get others to understand this sentiment, Keiko. Well put. :rolleyes: