The International

They control your money. They control your government. They control your life. And everybody pays.

That's what The International, the movie is all about.

Let me give you 5 reasons why you should watch this movie. Of course, they'd be based solely on my opinion. I rarely read what the film critics say. There are no absolute opinions. Relativity calls the shot.

First, it's rated as 18SG. Well, honestly speaking, it's obviously overrated by the Malaysian cinemas. The Dark Knight has far more 18SG elements. Duh! I think, there's only one scene which was..... alright, 18SG (I'm forcing myself to admit it's 18SG anyway). That's the awesome gunfight in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Wow. Real bullet holes lining up the walls like playing Tic-Tac-Too, shattered glass panes, close-up shots of blood oozing from gun wounds. Fantastic!

This is the museum where the gunfight scene was shot.

Second, Clive Owen as Interpol Agent Louis Salinger. He's British, he's tall, and he's macho! I'm going gaga..... ;P Hey, he could be the next James Bond if given the chance. I think Clive Owen can do better than errr..... Daniel Craig. I rather watch Nicholas Cage (Bangkok Dangerous) or Robert Downey Jr. (Ironman) as James Bond. I don't undermine Daniel Craig but I think he doesn't have that macho look, same goes to Tom Cruise (Valkyrie), Brad Pitt (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), Matt Damon (The Departed), Hayden Christensen (Jumper), and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight).

Photos from Clive Owen, IMDb.

Third, world's five great nations were involved, either directly as shooting location or indirectly as part of the script. United Kingdom, United States, France, Russia, China. Other countries such as Italy, Germany, Turkey, Israel, Syria, Iran, and the Third World countries as a whole were mentioned as well. Haha... that's why it's aptly named as The International.

Fourth, this movie sheds some light on certain principles that may become handy.
* One will meet his destiny on the road he chose to avoid.
* The hardest point in life is when you need to determine which bridge to be burned.
* If you choose to take matters into your own hand, there will be collateral damages.

Fifth, the ending of a movie determines how good the movie is at the end of the day. Some movie has great beginning but wtf kind of ending. Okay, for The International, during the credits, despite the bad CEO's death, the bad bank continued its illegal activities..... SUCCESSFULLY. That's the main point. The evil cycle is never meant to be broken. It can't. There's no justice in this world. When it touches mutual interests, values and principles are zero.

Okay, that's it. Watch or not, it's your choice. It's 118 minutes only, by the way.