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9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One great set piece in an otherwise muddled thriller, 1 Aug 2009
Clive Owen stars in this so-so political thriller. Well, I say political, but times have changed, and now it is corrupt bankers rather than corrupt politicians that supply our paranoid thrillers. Clive Owen is an Interpol policeman on a quest to expose corruption in a banks dealings with arms, allied with Naomi Watts' FBI agent in New York.
The build in the story is good - harking back to the days of 70's thrillers where intelligence, style and suspense made for an effective mix. However, here the three have been distilled into separate sections of the movie.. the slow build with detective work followed by a suspenseful shoot out in the Guggenheim - one of the most effective set pieces of the year, and where a more sensible film would have found its climax. However, at that point we are only half way through, and the tone shifts gear as our hero goes rogue to achieve his ends, and the moralising disconnects rather than engages, as the plotting unwinds from its taut beginnings to end in an unsatisfying collection of frayed ends.
Characterisation is slim, especially for Naomi Watts woefully 2 dimensional character, but the visuals are great. The director clearly has an eye for design and architecture, the camera relishing in some stunning locations. The locations often reflect the characters and moods of the movie, as we move from austere emotionless modern plazas and foyers around Europe, to shadowed columns as we meet the shady arms dealers, and the fascinating endless open rooftops of the final scenes as the film attempts resolution. However, although it marks the director as one to watch, as does the stunningly brutal and suspenseful shoot out set piece, this movie is ultimately a damp squib, which only scrapes by as a 3 star movie on the highs of the first half.
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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bloated and dull with some good bits, 11 July 2009
Unlike some reviewers seem to insist I am not going to tell you half the plot, though I am going to tell you the truth about this film.
First off, what is the sound and audio like? OK on both counts, nothing special, but does the job, picture pretty sharp though no standout scenes, no DTS.
As to the film itself....a cliched plotline full of holes that has *bankers* in it, gosh, how topical.
Clive Owen does his job but has very little to work with. The film flits from city to city every 10 minutes, and not a lot happens in each. Yes there is a good shootout, if you believe that submachine guns have around 200 bullets per magazine. There is also a pretty blonde in the film. I remark on that not because I am a male chauvinist but purely because I could not see the point of her character, yet the writers seem to have built in at least 3 or 4 scenes purely for her to dialogue.
To be honest, I just got bored with this film. I did not care about the characters, I did not care about the plot and frankly the baddies were exceedingly wet.
Is it just me...where have all the good films gone? All I see is a load of rubbish at the moment, which might explain why the top 100 DVD sales is overtaken with TV series.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Bank Statement, 2 May 2009
The film opens at Berlin airport; an Interpol agent meets a shady character who we later find is a whistleblower for the sinister Luxembourg based IBBC bank. Walking towards his fellow agent Louis Salinger (Owen), he is bumped by an innocuous individual, Bulgarian umbrella style. He shortly dies an unsavoury death in a pool of his own vomit in front of Salinger who on rushing to his aid, gets knocked out by a UPS truck wing mirror for his trouble....
Coming round in the same hospital where his colleague's cause of death is recorded as a heart attack, the permanently unwashed and glazed eyed Salinger suspects (ok, knows) different and like a dog with a bone goes after the IBBC bank. It transpires that the bank is deeply entrenched in the arms business and Lord Of War style shenanigans, for not only profit but influence and control; double dealing on both sides where it sees fit. It is totally ruthless and thinks nothing of taking out it's rivals by any means necessary.
As the other reviewers said, there is not too much new in this film, old school thriller updated for the morally bereft financial bedlam we now find ourselves in. A freedom fighter approached the IBBC bank for arms and finance, complaining the Swiss had become too expensive....the irony. Kill one corrupt banker and there are a hundred more to fill his shoes. Lots of messages, but no answers. The worst thing is that after watching this movie and if you are up with current affairs, you are unlikely to be surprised by (this portrayal of) the "system" and how it works; only saddened that it will probably always be like that and it's not only "Freedom Fighters" but governments and their agencies from around the world that are seemingly complicit in all of it.
Overall, this is a watchable, well shot and fast paced movie with some good set pieces in a variety of locations, special mention to the Istanbul finish. Owen is good as the hangdog, damaged agent though at times you really wish he would take timeout for a bath. Watts' character is slightly peripheral and not really developed, Neil from the Office holds his own as the bank attorney with just the right amount of slime; ditto his fellow suits.
Anyway, must finish here, I need to be back at my desk early in the morning...in the bank (7/10)
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