The Tourist

Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, Rufus Sewell, Steven Berkoff
Directed by: Florian Heckel von Donnersmarck
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Johnny Depp) meets a beautiful woman (Angelina Jolie) on a train, which gets him involved in international incidents, as he is mistaken for a famous criminal.

Review:

Tim: There was almost nothing appealing about The Tourist to me. The movie has a bland title, redundant story (it hurt that this came out a few months after the similiar Knight & Day), two great actors who looked bored in all the trailers, and no compelling reason why we should care. Once I watched the movie, I realized why the trailers were so bad- because they have next to nothing to work with. All those assumptions proved to be true.

This whole movie seemed like a half-hearted attempt. The movie is just going through the motions. There's a few requisite twists, but nothing particularly exciting or engaging. The same can be said of the cast. Angelina Jolie seemed positively bored throughout the entire film. Compare her performance her to 2010's Salt- it is stunning how boring she comes across here. I can't believe she cared much about this performance. Johnny Depp isn't bad, but it felt like he viewed this role as too simple for him to put much effort into it. He's not a flamboyant pirate, doesn't have scissors on his hands, and hasn't gone crazy. He's a normal, regular guy, and I think Depp was bored by the lack of a challenge.

It also hurts that Depp and Jolie have almost no chemistry together. That was the film's one big draw- "Come see Jolie and Depp together for the first time!" I'm not sure what their relationship on set was like, but it seemed like there was no spark at all between them. I never believed for a second that there was anything between their characters. They gave forced, awkward performances whenever they were together. That's very disappointing.

The supporting cast was better. Paul Bettany is a very good actor, and I liked him in this film. He isn't great (more of the writing than his performance), but he's enjoyable to see. Timothy Dalton has a small role, but his presence is very welcome. Rufus Sewell is the same- glad he's here, wish he had more to do.

The Tourist also has a few twists and turns. Unfortunately, these add very little to the film. I can't remember the last time twists and turns affected me so little. I shrugged off a few as if there were nothing, and the "big" twist was so obvious that I had guessed it very early in the film. I typically don't do that (I tend to focus on the moment when I watch movies, not think too far ahead), and I didn't even care about that.

This movie isn't horrible, but it does almost nothing exciting or memorable. Everything about this movie is ok, and nothing is great. That is really a shame. The talents of Jolie and Depp are wasted in a forgettable, weak little movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Knight & Day, The Lives of Others, Salt