The Tourist

Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp star in this twisty caper directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Oscar-winning "The Lives of Others").  Set amongst the gorgeous backdrop of Venice, the story centers around the beautiful and enigmatic Elise - a woman whose every move is being monitored by Interpol in hopes of catching her thieving ex-lover.  To try to elude the authorities, Elise and her boyfriend hatch a scheme which involves lonely schoolteacher, Frank (Depp), passing himself off as the man everyone is looking for.  Soon Frank and Elise are running from not just the police, but the even more dangerous criminals they swindled in the first place... but will Elise's new feelings for Frank get in the way of the love she still harbors for her ex-lover?  The plot is cleverly laid out and unfolds in an entertaining manner, and the action scenes help make up for the lazily written characters.  Elise is all smoke and mirrors to the point that we never get a glimpse of what she's really about, which leaves the gifted Jolie little to do but stand there and look pretty (which she does very well, of course, but I'd rather see her acting chops put to better use).  Depp's Frank is similarly fuzzy, and half the time I got the impression that Frank was half-asleep... an unusual quality given the dangerous circumstances.  The locale cannot be beat: with its sun-kissed buildings and sparkling waters, the city of Venice almost seems like another character in the story (and is, at times, more captivating than the two leads).  But there's definitely plenty of thrills and some interesting twists that keep you guessing almost to the very end - with a very satisfying denouement wrapping everything up nicely into a tidy little package - which makes this enticing european excursion worth checking out.

3 out of 5 stars