the international

sometimes a bit of compromise is required
a decision made tonight to go and see a film
my teenage companion pushing for something fast and furious
my preference for something the polar opposite of that one
so an agreement to meet in the middle with the international
memories of clive owen in children of god still resonating
naomi watts last seen in the rather thinly painted veil
reviews, trailers, etc meaning not too much is expected
though mention of plot complexities in several reviews
means i am concentrating on the dialogue in the opening scenes
a want to stay with or understand the plot as best i can
clive owen and naomi watts play new-york based interpol agents
he is officer louis salinger - she his boss eleanor whitman
good-looking, moralistic, squeaky clean - the goodies
he is in berlin with a companion liasing with a snitch
part of a large european bank with ties to the underworld
corrupt governments, arms dealers, etc also major clients
so the heads of this bank are clearly defined as the baddies
and quite easy to accept given the state of our real world
suspiciously salingers companion has a fatal heart attack
shortly after the snitch dies in a mysterious car accident
and so salinger moves into high gear to get to the truth
bolding striding into enemy territory within impressive buildings
the action leaping all over europe as he goes about his work
with the architecture of berlin, luxembourg, milan, lyon on display
it's a fairly rapid ride as the banks dealings are revealed
leading to the assassination of a future prime minister in milan
this giving more opportunity for salinger to go harder and deeper
this man is on a mission and nothing is going to get in his way
yep - he has morphed into a james bond / jason bourne character
sidelining all other characters as his impossible mission unfolds
not only that but he is a man of steel dodging bullets with ease
emerging unscathed from a long shoot-out in the guggenheim
there's no damsals in distress but there's a hint of romance
our 2 stars being professional yet setting it up for something
the long tear-filled gazes, the gentle touching, the lonely lives
the climax of this film however is some action in istanbul
another city introduced with some impressive aerial shots
the action within the walls of the sultan ahmed (blue) mosque
some shady dealing, eavesdropping, a murder and then a chase
this one taking place across the rooftops around the mosque
so again and consistently some stunning architecture on display
in the end of course salinger gets his man - the head of the bank
cut - that's a wrap - now close it out with a set-up for part 2
multiple online news articles displayed regarding the (bad) bank
showing they continue on their devious ways all over the world
blatantly setting it up for salinger to continue his crusade
besides - the girl - we're all hanging out for that conquest
there's only 1 thing getting in his way i would suggest
bums on seats - if not enough that's it for salinger
but given the success of other films of this genre
i'd say that's not the last we see of this pairing
but for me - that would be enough i think
still - a good compromised viewing