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The Tourist
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (26th May 2011). |
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The Film
 Of the few reviews I’ve read for “The Tourist” (2010), most have been dismal. The faintest praise any have been able to offer is that it plays like a throwback to the old, classic Hollywood studio productions, when megastars would share the screen in lighthearted romps with minimal plot. For some reason, people seem to single out Stanley Donen’s “Charade” (1963) as a historic example of this type of film, but I find that parallel to be a bit misguided. After all, Johnny Depp is no Cary Grant - not even on his best day. “Charade” also benefitted from a multitude of factors, including the 60's production values, great direction and a memorable score. All “The Tourist” has going for it is the two leads, and they’re both phoning it in from another planet. The film doesn’t have any sense of mystery or intrigue – the stakes never feel like they’ve been raised in the slightest – we’re simply treated to a 100-minute love letter to Venice. Even Angelina Jolie admitted in interviews that she took the role just so she could shoot in the famed city for a few weeks. If the one of the principal actors doesn’t appear to have any confidence in the quality of the film, how do they expect the public would react? The film opens with agents from Scotland Yard hot on the trail of Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie), a woman trying to find her lover, Alexander Pearce, a wanted man who owes England a substantial amount of back taxes. Pearce also stole $2.3 billion from a former gangster friend of his, and has essentially gone into hiding. While eating at a café, Elise is given a note to board a train and find a man who has a similar build & height to Pearce so that she can fool them into thinking he’s the real guy. On board she finds Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp), an American tourist, and invites him to dinner. The police are only fooled momentarily until they realize Frank isn’t Pearce, however, the gangster he ripped off, Reginald Shaw (Steven Berkoff), has already been tipped off that Frank IS Alexander. So, now Elise must try to find the real Alexander, all while she has the police, gangsters, and Frank on her heels at every turn. The film’s biggest problem is evident from the opening frames – it’s a dull, lifeless vessel used only to throw a couple of hot stars up on the big screen. That’s it. There’s no subtext at play here – no clever writing or a sense of danger. The story itself is the MacGuffin (Hitchcock’s term for a device used only to further the plot), as it’s used only to give us a fly-by-night tour of the beauty of Venice and its canals. Elise and Frank spend 98 of the film’s 100 minutes running from everyone, but never encountering anything that would count as actual danger. I’m not convinced the film wasn’t made just so Jolie could have 12 costume changes throughout its course. And why did Depp even bother with this tripe? He clearly looks bored with the role – maybe this is his “Jaws: The Revenge” (1987), the film Michael Caine has openly admitted he made simply get enough money to buy another house. I like Depp as an actor – usually – but every now and then he makes some vapid piece of crap that makes me question his process in selecting roles. The only minor moment of casting excitement came when I saw Steven Berkoff appear on screen. I figured maybe we’ll at least get a decent performance out of the villain, but he never gets further than a few menacing lines and a grimace. I read an interview with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck where he was asked whether he’d consider this film a thriller or a comedy. He stated it’s both, but when pressed admitted it was more comedy. Are you sure? Because I didn’t find anything funny aside from the fact that a studio actually gave you financing to make this film. I’m surprised it was even made at all considering the storied production history, with names ranging from Charlize Theron, Tom Cruise and Sam Worthington all attached at one point, and the directors chair having housed a few asses (including von Donnersmarck on TWO occasions) before finally rolling cameras. I think Cruise could have made this slightly more compelling, but he bowed out due to the similarities between this project and his own “Knight & Day” (2010), although that film was infinitely more enjoyable. Sometimes a film goes through Development Hell for a reason, and the best thing to do is let is die a quick death. “The Tourist” makes the best argument for such a case – for all its lavish production values, luxurious costumes, picturesque locations and white-hot celebrities, it’s as empty as a flushed toilet. Oh, and if you can’t guess the ending of the film within the first 4 minutes, it’s time to hand in your Film Cred card.
Video
The 2.40:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image looked fairly standard for high definition; it’s about as middle-of-the-road as these things come. I expected the Venetian visage to wow me in HD, but the cinematography did little to give the city a personality. It’s as though they figured just shooting in Venice would be enough; the shots of the city’s many sights would be sufficient. Instead, it felt like this could have been any European city were it not for the canals. As far as the actual quality of the image, it’s what you’d expect from a recent release – strong colors, excellent detail, crisp definition – but the movie lacks such a soul that it seems fittingly appropriate that the picture would also do little to excite me. I don’t want it to sound like I think this is a poor transfer; it’s not. Sony almost always does a fabulous job on their films, retaining grain and offering up a very cinematic experience for the home video market. Black levels are deep & abyssal, but the image never falters under their weight, retaining detail through shadows. I noticed the color palette skewed toward more reddish hues, which were especially evident on Berkoff’s face. But the majority of skin tones looked spot-on and flawless. I only meant to say that nothing stands out here. For a film that appears to be based solely on looks – of both its stars and its locations – neither came across as stunning as the filmmakers likely intended.
Audio
The primary audio option is an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit. The first thing I took note of when brainstorming my review was how little I cared for the score. Utterly generic – it’s just the kind of bland, light-hearted soundtrack that every other thrill-com employs. Going back to an earlier film which parallels this one, “Knight & Day” had a similar-sounding score, and that was one of the weaker aspects of that picture. There’s nothing compelling about the music – it’s elevator music, designed only to give you something to listen to while the film plays. There’s no emotion, no heart & love; it’s there only because it has to be. There isn’t much action to speak of – the roar of a train’s engine, some mild mayhem involving a slow speed chase in the canals, typical gunfire – none of which did much to add some oomph to the track. Surrounds are minimally used, chiming in with some background chatter during the gala ball or during some of the surveillance scenes throughout. There is also a French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track mixed at 48kHz/24-bit included, as well as an English Audio Description Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track. Subtitles are available in English, English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Lots of expected bonus materials here – audio commentary, short featurettes, bonus trailers – along with some outtakes and Sony’s MovieIQ interactive feature. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I didn’t like but the bonus material ends up revealing a passionate director, charismatic cast and a host of other factors which end up making me at least appreciate a project even if has failed. This is not one of those cases. The audio commentary with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was better than I had anticipated. I’ll give the guy credit - he’s definitely passionate about the film, even if his remarks did nothing to make me think any more of it. He covers all the bases, from location scouting to casting to post-production and everything else in between. I have half a mind to recommend that anyone stuck watching the film do so with the commentary enabled rather than listening to the terrible writing. “Canal Chats” (1080p) featurette runs for 6 minutes and 1 second. The film’s cast & crew discuss the excitement and challenges of shooting in Venice, where many shoots took place on the water and at night. “A Gala Affair” (1080p) featurette runs for 7 minutes and 12 seconds. Director von Donnersmarck talks about how he really wanted a grand gala to take place during the film – an event where “everything was perfect”. This piece looks at how they put it all together. “Action in Venice” (1080p) featurette runs for 6 minutes and 29 seconds. I thought the action in this film was minimal, at best, but this look at the film’s stunts shows that there’s still a lot of work that goes into making even the most basic of action set pieces for a film. “Bringing Glamour Back” (1080p) featurette runs for 9 minutes and 8 seconds. All the film’s big talking heads come out to toss every glowing adjective imaginable at the film. I’m sure it was the script, not the chance to shoot in Venice for 6 weeks, that lured them all in. “Tourist Destination – Travel the Canals of Venice” (1080p) featurette runs for 3 minutes and 17 seconds. Not convinced Venice is a great place to visit? This piece might convince you, even if it plays like a celebrity-laden timeshare commercial. Alternate Animated Title Sequence (1080p) runs for 2 minutes and 14 seconds. This was meant to open the film? The way the credits run, it looks more like it was supposed to come right after the ending. Outtake Reel (1080p) runs for 1 minute and 26 seconds. Bonus trailers (1080p) are included for the following: - “Sony promo” runs for 1 minute and 2 seconds. - “Sony 3D promo” runs for 2 minutes and 19 seconds. - “Soul Surfer” runs for 2 minutes and 17 seconds. - “How Do You Know?” runs for 2 minutes and 35 seconds. - “Inside Job” runs for 2 minutes and 35 seconds. - “Country Strong” runs for 2 minutes and 23 seconds. Sony’s web connection-required "MovieIQ" interactive feature is also included, which will pop-up tidbits of trivia, cast biographies, location information & more throughout the film when selected. The disc is also BD-Live enabled, though no content specific to the film is to be found when accessed.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a keepcase. As is customary with most Sony titles, there is a still from the film on the opposite side of the cover art. I wish more studios would include this. It’s probably cheap, and since hardly anyone does inserts anymore it’s a nice touch to jazz up the interior a bit.
Overall
Ricky Gervais was right to poke fun at both Depp & Jolie at this year’s Golden Globe Awards – for a production of this type, with actors as internationally-known as these two – the results should have been far more interesting than what came out. Depp should know better than to make something so callow, but Jolie hasn’t been in something good for years. And I’ve come to view her as less an actress and more somebody who’s just a famous celebrity. I can’t imagine what would draw people in to see this movie aside from the names listed on the front cover, but I think you’d be much better off seeking out other films they’ve starred in than watch this one.
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