This film has all the qualities of a great movie - intriguing story, well-written script, fascinating locations, and capable actors who can pull it all off - but it falls short of coming together.
The Plot of The Tourist
The premise of this film is a half decent one - a banker, Alexander Pierce, steals a few billion pounds from his gangster boss. Of course Pierce has to go on the run to avoid ending up dead. And he has to leave behind the woman he loves, Elise (played by Angelina Jolie).
Two years pass and Pierce wants to reconnect with Elise even though they both know she is being watched by the European version of the tax police; he owes over 700 million pounds on the 'income' he took from the gangster. As part of their plan to reconnect, Pierce instructs Elise to get on a train, find someone that resembles him in height and appearance, and become friendly with the patsy. The purpose is to let the gangster and financial police believe Pierce had plastic surgery and is the man Elise is on the train with. Once they arrive in Venice, Elise takes the patsy, Frank Tupelo, a math professor from Madison, Wisconsin, back to her hotel room. She makes sure all the people following her see her interact with Frank.
The action finally starts to pick up when the good and the bad guys start closing in on Alexander Pierce, the man they all desperately want.
Johnny Depp
Since Depp made his first movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he has played all of his characters with a confidence that has drawn viewers in. This role is no different. He plays a geeky American tourist who is completely out of his element struggling to keep the woman he is falling for safe. As always, Depp does not disappoint.
Angelina Jolie
Jolie is known for playing roles of women who can kick ass (Laura Croft, numerous assassins, and most recently Agent Salt in Salt) and it's nice to see a softer side of her in this film. In almost every scene she is wearing an outfit suitable to have on when meeting the Queen of England, dazzling jewels, and high heeled shoes that mere mortals are incapable of walking in for more than 20 feet. Every time Jolie enters a room or walks past a group of people, everyone stops whatever they are doing to stare at her, the men with lust, the women with jealousy. It gets a tad bit mundane as Jolie is attractive but she falls a little short of being a Goddess. There were too many shots of the camera zoomed in on her face in which no dialogue or action occurred. I felt like yelling, "Get on with it!" although we can't blame Jolie for the camera shots and director's instructions. All that said, Jolie did a passable job playing the role of a thieving banker's girlfriend.
More Thoughts on The Tourist
I do recommend seeing this movie although I suggest you wait for it to come out on DVD. The action scenes, when they eventually came around, were not that exciting. There were too many instances where the film makers were just eating up time and there was no forward action. The music that filled the dead spots was grating after awhile.
The best thing about this movie is the location shots. You can tell they went to Paris and then Venice to film the movie as opposed to making European sets in Hollywood. The scenery is the only thing that gets a thumbs up.
Despite the beauty of the scenery and the actors, this movie feels like the creators were trying too hard to shove a square peg into a round hole.
Toby Welch - Toby is a full-time freelance writer who specializes in magazine articles, online writing, e-books, and manuscript editing.
Join the Conversation