And finally....my review of THE TOURIST

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THE TOURIST, a film by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (but let's face it, we watched the damn film because of Depp and Jolie) starts off intriguing enough. Angelina Jolie as a toned-down Evelyn Salt in that lavish cream dress, and a mysterious letter from a mysterious man- I mean how can that not be exciting?

As we patiently watch, waiting for Depp to arrive onscreen, Depp gives his usual antics in front of us. As much as I try to sympathize with his bumbling, clueless math teacher character, I still honestly believe he was miscast, as was Angelina. As my friend had said, "Jolie and Depp onscreen together is too much". True enough, there is so much star power which does little to improve the mediocre script (written by Donnersmarck, Christopher Mcquarrie of VALKYRIE fame and Julian Fellowes who penned THE YOUNG VICTORIA) adapted from the French film ANTHONY ZIMMER which I will be watching very soon for comparison.  

The pacing is relaxed; it shouldn't be. Gangsters after Johnny Depp's character are not convincing enough to be called gangsters. Jesse Eisenberg in THE SOCIAL NETWORK is scarier than these guys. Steven Berkoff is a joke. 

As soon as the film reaches the surprise twist in the end which isn't surprising at all, I simply did not care. The Tourist has more plot holes than a Filipino mainstream movie.

The good thing, the only possible good thing in the sleep-inducing THE TOURIST is its cinematography of Venice, though I felt there wasn't enough Venice shown in the movie. Venice has been photographed better in other films, like CASINO ROYALE. 

There has been a lot of mockery here. 

First, von Donnersmarck is a critically-acclaimed filmmaker for his THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

Second, the Golden Globes nods. Had Depp, or Jolie, or the film won, I would have jumped off a cliff. 

Third, Jolie is an Oscar winner. Even HACKERS is better than this movie. 

Good thing PIRATES 4 is coming this May. Johnny, redeem yourself!

RATING: 1/5

Comments

  1. EhnteiMarch 2, 2011 at 1:04 PM

    Haha! From the very start, I would have to say that I have doubts whether Jolie and Depp in the same screen would work. I don't think too much astig-ness would ever work. LOL. Even the people behind the film itself made an excuse just to have both in the same film. Oh well. That's Johnny and Angelina in the same movie. What else do you need? ^^

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