What makes The Tourist unpalatable is the clichéd script. It is a story you have read and seen on screen many times before – a mysterious thief steals billions from a gangster, and his girlfriend helps him out by preying upon an innocent stranger… and so on and so forth. The script, based on the French film, Anthony Zimmer, is nothing to write home about. There is a twist in the climax, but even that is predictable. The film’s screenplay – by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Christopher McQuarrie and Julian Fellowes – is even worse. It plays out the rather simple story in a round-and-about way, purportedly to create mystery, but fails miserably to excite the viewer. Except for the lead roles, the rest of the characters are just stereotypes. Even the lead roles are confusing. Elise is supposed to be deeply in love with the thief, but overnight, she falls in love with Frank. Moreover, the romantic angle seems all too convenient because the chemistry between Frank and Elise is just not there.

Angelina Jolie (The Tourist Movie Still)

One wonders if The Tourist was meant to be a spoof of some sorts because it tries to be many things at the same time — a whodunit, romance, thriller and a comedy! The last few reels of the film will elicit laughter from the audience, and not because of the funny dialogues or situations, but because of the absurdity of what’s happening on screen.

The film’s saving grace is Johnny Depp’s earnest performance as the naïve and foolhardy maths teacher. Angelina Jolie looks ravishing (as one dialogue in the film goes) in all her 12 different dresses, but has little to do beyond pouting at the camera all the time. Paul Bettany is good but his character ends up being a caricature of an upright police officer. Timothy Dalton, as Chief Inspector Jones, Steven Berkoff as the gangster-boss, and Rufus Sewell, as The Englishman, are thoroughly wasted in inconsequential roles. Christian De Sica, as Colonnello Lombardi, is funny.

Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie (The Tourist Movie Still)

Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck disappoints. One would expect much more after his 2007 Oscar-winning film, The Lives Of Others. But with The Tourist, Donnersmarck completely loses the plot. If only he had paid more attention to the screenplay than shooting in the exotic locales of Paris and Venice, the film would have been much better. James Newton Howard’s background score reminds one of the films of the ’80s. Unfortunately, it just adds to the feeling that all that is happening on screen is fake. The camerawork by John Seale is good. Editing by Joe Hutshing and Patricia Rommel is okay.

On the whole, The Tourist fails to entertain. It leaves the audience wondering about what’s going on. Johnny Depp, in spite of his honest act, can’t save the film. Expect the film to do badly at the Indian box-office, in both, the English and Hindi (The Tourist – Ek Haseen Jaal) versions.

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