Movie Review: The Tourist

Firstly, I must post a disclaimer....

I am, and have always been, irrevocably in love with Johnny Depp.  Given that little tidbit of information you can rest assured, you will always see a movie review pertaining to any film directly connected with Johnny.

Now that that is out of the way....

The Tourist, starring THE Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie takes place is breathtaking Venice, Italy.  It begins with Angelina's character, Elise Ward, being followed by members of the police department conducting a sting operation in the hopes of being led to the elusive Alexander Pierce. Pierce is a criminal wanted in 14 countries, and is wanted by the British government for tax evasion.  He is also wanted by gangster, Reginald Shaw, (played by Steven Berkoff) who he has also stolen billions from.  Elise is given instructions via a note from Pierce to get on a train to Venice, and find a man on the train who fits his height and build and make the agents following her believe it is him. The man she chooses is Depp's character, Frank Tupelo, an American school teacher visiting Venice as a tourist.

My thoughts on the movie?  Without giving too much away, Jolie and Depp played their characters extremely well. The storyline was smooth and entertaining.  My complaints? The movie is marketed as an Action, Drama, Thriller.  I would most definitely drop the thriller part and replace it with Comedy.  The police tailing Elise made it painfully obvious they were following her. There is no indication in the movie to the date in which the actions are taking place.  So as a moviegoer you are assuming it's present day. (They did have small cell phones so we know it isn't taking place too long ago) If that is the case, the technology the agents are using are extremely dated. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud when the agents communicated to each other by talking into the microphone on their wrists.  Safe to say, these actions made it rather amusing.

Would I recommend this movie to be seen in the movie theater? If you are a Depp and/or a Jolie fan, yes. If you are a fan of beautiful location cinematography, yes. If you are a fashionista,yes (I am dying to know who is the designer of the dress Angelina wears in the opening scene and at the ball!)  There is action, there is drama....very little thriller, but lots of laughs.  They both deliver their lines convincingly with ease.  I don't regret paying to see it in the movie theater, and I would recommend it to anyone who is not expecting to see a true drama/thriller.