Angelina Jolie seduces Johnny Depp aboard a European locomotive in the thriller THE TOURIST.Depp is Frank, an American tourist headed towards Venice in hopes of soaking up the sights and forgetting his ex. Jolie is Elise, a woman caught up in her husband’s escapades and also in harm’s way. In order to throw off her pursuers, Elise chooses Frank, an apparently innocent, but willing participant in her twisted game.
THE TOURIST feels like a softened and less thought out version of the unheralded, but clever little thriller A PERFECT GETAWAY.
Both films are thrillers set across exotic landscapes, with attractive leads and a mystery biting at its core. Not only does THE TOURIST not thrill like A PERFECT GETAWAY, but the revelation in this romantic thriller feels false and forced.
All may have been forgiven had Depp and Jolie been able to create any sparks in the chemistry department. Both former Sexiest People of the Year, the steam between the two is surprisingly absent, and the rest of the screenplay, penned by four writers, including director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck doesn’t provide any assistance.
Henckel von Donnersmarck, who directed the brilliant thriller THE LIVES OF OTHERS, fails to find the right tone for THE TOURIST. The proceedings are too laid back, capturing the beauty of the European countryside and Venice canals, but failing to nail down any intensity in the mystery, the love affair or the police investigation. Depp, Jolie and Henckel von Donnersmarck are wasted, as are a name supporting cast consisting of Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton and Rufus Sewell.
THE TOURIST is nothing more than pretty faces and landscapes.
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