Talking Pictures

Rich Bonaduce reviews “The Tourist”

Rich’s Quickie: An average movie with star power.

I can just hear The Tourist pitch meeting: “Okay. We get together Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp…”
And what else needed to be said?
The Tourist is a movie with pretty people about pretty people in pretty places, and as such, there are LOTS of lingering shots of Angelina Jolie just thinking of her next line, and of Johnny Depp gazing out upon beautiful Italian vistas. There are even plenty of shots of other people staring AT Jolie, as if we forgot her looks. But all of this posing really slows down the “thrill” part of this romantic thriller. And even once it does get going, its predictability is its problem; from hired assassins who can’t seem to aim their weapons very well, to the final twist that was plain from the start. Now there are some movies whose endings you can guess, but the movie makes it worth it, even though you can guess the outcome. Like a roller coaster you’ve been on before, the ride keeps you entertained enough, even though you know how it ends. Unfortunately, The Tourist just doesn’t supply the thrills or the fun to make the predictability worth it. But Jolie and Depp do have chemistry, and the plot is likable enough, and the action sequences re well shot… but you just get the sense that with this much star power attached, you should be blown away, and not just mildly entertained.

Movie Grade: C

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writers: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (screenplay) and Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay) and Julian Fellowes (screenplay)
Jérôme Salle (motion picture “Anthony Zimmer”)

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.

Tags: Rich Bonaduce reviews, talking pictures, the tourist
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