The Tourist
Dir: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
2010
**
A nod to the great Hitchcockian noir thrillers of yesteryear it maybe but unfortunately The Tourist comes across as a spoof rather than a tribute. It's more out of date than anything, anyone who has actually been to Venice will tell you it's not as beautiful and clean as it looks on screen and Scotland Yard is not based in a beautiful old Victorian building - far from it. It's these inaccuracies that bothered me, the mixture of modern technology and old school styles just doesn't work. It's badly cast also, as good as the two leads are, this wasn't right for either of them. Paul Bettany is quite good though and it was a nice surprise to see Timothy Dalton in a role that was perfect for him. The biggest crime of all is that the 'twist' ending is glaringly obvious from the very beginning, making the whole thing extremely disappointing. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck went from The Lives of Others to this? What the hell?