One could almost mistake The International, with its plot about a globetrotting British agent who tries to stop bad guys from doing dastardly deeds, for a James Bond flick. But the similarities end there, as this is a classy and beautifully shot thriller รก la The Day of the Jackal or The Interpreter that favors simple suspense over amped-up action.

Clive Owen is the agent, an Interpol operative who teams up with a New York DA (Naomi Watts) to investigate the title bank, a Berlin-based behemoth run by a knot of nattily-attired gentlemen that Owen and Watts believe is involved in some nasty activities.

I admit it’s not the most exciting plot. I mean, Owen and Watts (who thankfully stay just friends) essentially play paper pushers who go after, well, a bank. The thing is talky, too, with characters constantly explaining to each other what exactly is going on. And the acting is lacking. Owen never really develops beyond being merely mad, and Watts just seems lifeless.

But German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Perfume) nonetheless manages to make it all both compelling and relatively easy to follow through skillfully framed shots, elegant camera movement and unfussy editing. And he moves the action along at a nice, unhurried pace, much to the chagrin of anyone expecting Bourne-style razzle-dazzle.

He fashions some wonderful shots, too, like an overhead view of a crowd dispersing in panic after an assassination, and excels at generating tension, be it said assassination or Owen approaching a car containing the assassin. He also treats us to a smorgasbord of gorgeous international architecture, showing off buildings not only in Germany and New York, but Italy, Turkey and France.

Yet what most may remember about the film is the wonderful doozy of a firefight between Owen and some determined hit men that Tykwer stages in a realistic replica of the Guggenheim Museum. It’s a beautifully engineered sequence– taut, bloody, creatively shot and coherently cut, with lots of shattering glass, a hit man falling to his death and the loud and incessant buzz of machine pistols.

The film can’t help but fall back to earth after that, coming to a near standstill as Owen grills the one baddie with a conscience (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and then finishing up with one of those ‘that’s-it?’ endings. But overall I still think it’s a thriller that people over the age of 30 can at least appreciate, if not enjoy. – [DVD]

Crime/Thriller

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 6/9/09

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