The Tourist

In The Tourist, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie gallivanting around Europe, and for many people, that's all they need to know. As expected, Depp and Jolie perform up to their standards (or at least up to what's asked of them) and the scenery is indeed very beautiful. Unfortunately, that's the short list of what works in the film, and an overly complex plot, unnecessary twists, and a violently uneven tone result in a real dud of a picture.

The tourist mentioned in the title refers to Frank (Depp), a math teacher from Wisconsin who's taking a European vacation. He meets Elise (Jolie) on a train to Venice, Italy, and while he thinks they're hitting it off quite well, in reality Elise has chosen him to unknowingly act as a decoy for her fugitive boyfriend. This is a side of Depp we don't often see. Instead of his usual suave self, Frank is awkward and bumbling, and it's nice to see Depp play such an insecure role. He's obviously having fun and it really comes through. 

The character of Elise isn't much of a stretch for Jolie. A mysterious, exotic beauty? Hold the phones! Still, it's Jolie doing what she does best and she plays along nicely. The chemistry between the two is far from great, and they never really click as a couple, but it's almost fitting given Frank's lack of grace. Still, a little bit of chemistry wouldn't of hurt, but it wouldn't have saved this film, either.

There are times when you're watching a romantic thriller. Then there are times when it's more of a spy movie. And then there's the romantic comedy elements. There's no rule saying that these things can't work together, but they certainly don't here. Just as you settle in for type of film, the tone shifts very suddenly, completely obliterating any mood and feel before it can even be expressed.

The Tourist is a mess of a picture. It's multiple movies compressed into one, resulting in a completely uneven experience. It reaches for a plethora of emotions and evokes none. There have been films that have successfully blended genres, but this isn't one of them. The Tourist doesn't know what it wants to be, so it tries to be everything, not giving any aspect enough time to be successful. It's a confusing jumble, punctuated by twists that not only do nothing to aid the film, but in one instance hurt it quite considerably. I thought to myself "no, they wouldn't possibly do that," and then they did, and the damage was done. I obviously can't go into details, but if the film wasn't already ruined (which it was), then that was the final nail in the coffin.

Oftentimes when reviewing a film, the critic has a pretty good idea where the film went wrong and why it failed to do what it set out to do. I have no idea what The Tourist set out to do. Whatever it was, it failed.

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