The Tourist

At first glance, The Tourist is a stark reminder of Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest. The comparisons are not unfounded, even if this new film has no chase aboard Mt. Rushmore. It's still a good film, even if the final plot twist is more "huh?" than "whoa!"

The tourist is Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp), an American math teacher on a trip to Venice. On the train there, he meets the mystery woman Elise (Angelina Jolie). They hit it off right away, and soon spend the night at the same hotel.

It turns out that her boyfriend, the enigmatic Alexander Pierce, is an embezzler who has swiped billions from gangster Reginald Shaw (Steven Berkoff). Shaw wants Pierce's head, and thanks to misfortune, assumes that Tupelo is Pierce. One can only imagine the "fun" that ensues for Frank and Elise.

Its director and co-writer is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose debut film was Germany's Oscar winner The Lives of Others. One of the other writers, Jullian Fellowes, won the Oscar for writing Gosford Park. The last writer is Christopher McQuarrie, Oscar-winner for The Usual Suspects. Their new film is a remake of a French film called Anthony Zimmer. So, what kind of film have they brought about?

It's what North by Northwest would've looked like if it took itself a bit less seriously. It has silly hi-jinks and amusing dialogue mixed in with the amazing scenery of Venice. Much of the film's humor is made effective due to Depp's convincing performance, on which the final twist greatly relies on.

I won't spoil the twist, except that it wasn't given the proper buildup before execution. The film also drags on for quite a bit up until the end. The aforementioned hi-jinks and dialogue, however, make up for it greatly.

Although it won't be a classic to the extent of North by Northwest, The Tourist should be a memorable matinee event. And that's what's important to know.