The International

***1/2 – After convincingly portraying the main badass antagonist to Matt Damon in “The Bourne Identity” it was only a matter of time before someone gave Clive Warren a shot at being the lead guy in his own Bourne-esque thriller. While this 2009 conspiracy potboiler directed by Tom Tykwer (of “Run, Lola, Run” fame) sort of goes that route, “The International” is much more about the investigative and procedural aspects of the genre as opposed to the Bourne films’ more action orientation. Clive plays an Interpol investigator who teams up with New York DA agent Naomi Watts to attempt to bring down a shady Luxembourg-based bank that is implied to be involved in all sorts of backroom deals with communist revolutionary groups and all the other ‘evil’ people who are floating around. With luxuriant vistas spanning Europe and briefly hopping over Stateside the scenery and photography of “The International” are splendid, with the exception of the occasional dull but plot-necessitated scene taking place wholly within a stuffy office building or cluttered apartment. It’s these types of little scenes that bring the overall entertainment value down a notch or two, though. They serve their purpose in advancing the plot, but they all too often go off on tangents relating to the lead characters’ personal lives and career histories. The little bit of action that is thrown in is mostly well done, although a massive gunfight at the Guggenheim Museum in New York is probably a little over the top in terms of believability. It’s a pretty solid flick overall, though, with a decent pace and a fairly interesting story despite its lack of originality and transparent right-wing ideology.