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SYNOPSIS: Frank
(Johnny Depp), a mild-mannered American on vacation in Venice,
Italy, is befriended by Elise (Angelina Jolie), a breathtakingly
beautiful woman with a mysterious secret. Soon, their playful
romantic dalliance turns into a complicated web of dangerous
deceit as they are chased by Interpol, the Italian police,
and Russian hit men in this suspense-filled, international
action thriller.
MOVIE
REVIEW:
Oscar-winning cinematographer John Seale did such an incredible job capturing the watery city Venice on reel that at least his achievement will makes the local tourist board proud. Accompanied by Oscar nominee, composer James Newton Howard’s lush score, "The Tourist" is truly the best 'spokesman' for the already tourist popular city in northern Italy.
Stripped away all the glamour and that include the two leading cast members, a certain pirate called Johnny Depp and a tomb raider by the name of Angelina Jolie, "The Tourist" plays like a poor man’s crime thriller. And ironically we haven’t even list down the people who are involved in adapting this from the original French thriller, "Anthony Zimmer". A one very credible writer called Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects).
Star power which many hopeful Hollywood executives believe can alleviate a sinking ship has been proven to be quite the contrary in recent years. With the exception of Johnny Depp, he for one has not been affected by this so-called curse and whatever he touches turns into box-office gold. The less prolific Angelina Jolie on the other hand has just brought in a small windfall for Sony in the form of "Salt" earlier in the year thus with the combine star power, this looks like a sure winner.
Again this is not a valid reason to mislead the audience. "The Tourist" is anaemic from scene one. Imagine a gorgeous looking lady being followed by secret agents hidden in a large black van just feet away from her. Come on, try harder. Later through bits and pieces, we know that this lady by the name of Elise is wanted for her involvement with a guy named Alexander Pearce, AP for short. AP is wanted by both the authorities and the gangster whom he stole 2 billion from. Who exactly is Alexander Pearce? And why did he make Elsie choose a decoy that is supposed to resemble him in terms of height and weight? Elsie falling in love with an ordinary math teacher by the name of Frank on a train ride? That is really Hollywood in the making.
You know the movie is desperate to elicit some laughs when Elsie and Frank try to determine between the words ravenous and ravishing. You know the movie is in trouble when the highlight is a clumsy boat chase through the canals. And yes when Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie look so perfect (those gowns and tuxedos) all the time onscreen, you realised how much you paid for this Blu-ray.
There is so much "The Tourist" can provide for the audience instead of mere eye candy and light moments of romance but apparently no one really cares about it. Everyone is so concerned about making the perfect looking picture that they probably won’t realised you have everything figure out even before the two lovebirds set off to the sunset.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The one minute plus Outtake Reel is at times funnier than the movie.
We very much prefer this Alternate Animated Title Sequence than the final onscreen version.
Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is a very sweet engaging talker which makes the Director Commentary a pleasant experience to listen to.
No expenses is spared in creating the ballroom sequence in A Gala Affair
The costumes and set designs are discussed in the 9 minutes feature Bringing Glamour Back
Action choreographer Simon Crane talks about coordinating the tough boat chase sequences in Action In Venice
The various cast and crew marvels about Venice in Tourist Destination
Cast and crew talks about filming in Venice in Canal Chats in this 6 minutes segment.
The usual Sony’s movieIQ and BD Live round up the Blu-ray extras.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
This Blu-ray visual presentation is simply breath-taking. Colours are sharp and images are free of any visible artefacts. James Newton Howard’s classy score emits perfectly in addition to the ambient sound effects. As this is not an action oriented movie, the English 5.1 DTS-HD track does well to convey the heavy dialogue and occasional gunshots.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted on 2 April 2011
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