In The International Clive Owen plays Lois Salinger, an agent committed to taking down a financial institution he believes to be involved in murder and an international arms dealing ring. Those closest to Salinger, including fellow agent Eleanor Whitman (played by Naomi Watts), aren't entirely sure if the stressed out individual's claims are true or if the agent is greatly suffering from some paranoid delusion. Of course, we all know the answer to that question. If the bank wasn't crooked, we wouldn't have much of a movie.

Clive Owen is terrific here taking what could have been a standard, action guy role, and breathing complexity into him. Owen's Salinger is worn down to be sure, but he's also hard nosed, hard boiled, and instinctively driven by a fierce hunger for the truth. Salinger is an idealist in every sense of the word, and Owen does a great job bringing this obsessed character to life. I wish the same could be said for Naomi Watts. The lovely Watts is unable to bring any sense of purpose to her thankless role as agent Whitman. For most of the film, she looks as if she has no idea what the hell she's doing there. In her defense, this is a wholly unnecessary character. She's there to deliver lines that sort of clue the audience in on what's going on, lines that Salinger could have given himself. She serves no real purpose until the later portions of the movie, but even then, her involvement has more to do with a choice Salinger makes. A shame, because Watts can be quite engaging when given the right material.

Tom Tykwer, who directed 1998's relentless Run Lola Run, does a great job with The International's brilliantly executed action sequences. In particular, there's a spectacular shoot out at New York's Guggenheim Museum. It's a taut, breathtaking piece that rivals any of the action sequences in Quantum of Solace. In fact, Tykwer's directing style is perfectly suited for this material. I love the way he and cinematographer Frank Griebe frame their shots. Everything is big and open, allowing the film's vast locations to play like characters in the piece. Furthermore, while this is more of a thinking man's action movie, there's plenty of physical tension here and I actually liked the film's multiple endings. There were at least two or three moments when I thought the film would end, but then it continued on, making its way towards an abrupt but perfectly fitting conclusion.

The International is a flawed film and most of those flaws lie in the screenplay. In addition to an unnecessary Eleanor Whitman, I tired of the fashion in which these characters deliver never ending exposition through boring, talkie dialogue. It would have been nice had this stuff been dialed down or showcased in a different way. I'm all for a thinking person's action movie, but seriously, some of the dialogue here was downright terrible.

Ultimately, I was won over by The International. Clive Owen is terrific, and I absolutely love the look of the picture. Add to this a spectacular action sequence and you have a thriller well worth checking out.