Director: Tom Tykwer
Year Released: 2009
Rating: 2.5
Somewhat efficient if contrived multi-national thriller has Interpol agent Clive Owen and Asst. District Attorney Naomi Watts investigating bank corruption and the sales of advanced weaponry to various rogue entities. This point - about real-life banks getting into bed with real-life terrorists - is actually quite a real-life problem and the sense of paranoia and powerlessness comes through in the script, though it's probably not best to dwell on the plot's particulars. Owen, having been considered for (but ultimately rejected as) James Bond, seems intent on letting everyone know he was the one for the job: the man's resume is filled with Bond-like roles (Croupier, Duplicity, as "The Driver" in those BMW spots, even a special agent in The Pink Panther). The justifiably praised shoot-out in a mock-up of the Guggenheim Museum is such a jarring sequence it almost seems out of place - and one so jaw-dropping it makes the rest of the movie appear even more measured in comparison.
