Grade: A-Elise is a mysterious woman who is being followed by Scotland Yard in Venice because of her connection to a wanted man. One day, she receives a note from this man telling her to get on a train and find a man similar to his size and build to throw off the agents following her. This is how she meets Frank Tupelo, a math teacher from the United States. Frank is simply a tourist on vacation in the beautiful city, but the alluring Elise changes all of that. Before he knows it, Frank is being chased across roof tops and shot at by Russian mobsters. What started simply as Elise following the orders of a former lover, begins to turn into something more.
The Tourist is a great movie that is very enjoyable to watch. However, once again, the trailer is lying to you. It is not the shoot ‘em up, action spy thriller that the trailer makes is out to be. Instead, the movie focuses on the characters themselves and the relationship developing between them. I really enjoyed the overall story of The Tourist, it has a bit of romance mixed beautifully with a mystery story. Not to mention the beautiful scenery of Venice, which is practically a character itself, in this movie. The writing is great and there is a lot dialogue because they really worked character development. The movie has a fair amount of humor mixed in with everything that helps make this movie that much more enjoyable. It does take a little bit to get going, but I personally don’t mind when a movie is a little slower, as long as the story is good.
Angelina Jolie (Salt, Wanted) and Johnny Depp (Alice In Wonderland, Public Enemies) play Elise and Frank, respectively. These two were so great together that I hope they do another movie together soon. Jolie played the role of distant and mysterious very well and Depp complimented that perfectly with his neurotic and timid performance. I really enjoy both of these actors, so seeing them together in a movie like this was an absolute joy. While I enjoyed Jolie’s performance greatly in this movie, Elise is a bit similar to many of her recent roles. I loved Johnny Depp’s performance in this movie, this might be one of his better roles. Paul Bettany (Legion, The Da Vinci Code) plays Acheson, a Scotland Yard agent trying to find Elise’s former lover. Bettany was great in this movie, even though he wasn’t in it much. The movie also features performances by Timothy Dalton, Steven Berkoff and Rufus Sewell.
The Tourist is a great movie, but again, it doesn’t feature much action and really focuses on the story. It is very enjoyable and is one of the better movies to come out this year. The story, characters and scenery are all great. I do recommend viewing it, but if you are unsure about paying to see in theater, it could wait until it’s available to rent on DVD.
Great quote: “Elise, you are the least down to Earth person I have ever met.”
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