What would you say if I told you that one of the most prestigious and farthest reaching financial institutions in the world was using your money for heavy arms dealing and all other sorts of shady business? Well this is what Interpol agents Louis Salinger [Clive Owen] and Eleanor Whitman [Naomi Watts] believe and they are after the truth.

Clive Owen’s character has apparently been after this bank from before his days at Interpol and no matter what all of his leads end in a frustrating dead end filled with dead bodies and bureaucratic red tape. However, this organization seems to be more ridiculously connected and able to find out about anyone of its operatives whereabouts than any other movie I’ve ever seen. For some reason throughout the entire film there were no lack of individuals inside of this sinister bank that were willing to turncoat and start snitching for the police, except every single time the bank would quickly take out that informant without hesitation, even if they didn’t turn but rather for just being in a close proximity with a person of law enforcement.

The film is really heaped onto the stiff spinal cord of Clive Owen’s British accent. For some reason I’m beginning to believe that his accent is the only reason why he’s even a film star. He is a pretty one note actor, he can sit in front of the camera and look either completely lost or completely serious and the difference between each is that twinkle in your eyes or something. I mean, Clive has still appeared in some of my favourite movie in the past few years [Children of Men, Inside Man, Sin City and Closer] but I’m starting to realize what a bad actor he really is, and how much better Gerard Butler is than him. So when next someone asks me for a charismatic British leading man I’ll have to point to the dude in 300.

Naomi Watts was a waste in this movie. She’s the better actor in the film but due to her minimal effect on the overall plot and having to sit shotgun to the male lead we never get a chance to see her shine here. I personally was sad that she had absolutely no part to play in the only good scene of the film – the Guggenheim scene – while she was off realizing how bad the movie was in the first place.

The one plus that this movie offered me was the great shootout that was the Guggenheim scene which gives me that action fix that I needed and everything else is just a waste of your time. If you saw the trailer for the movie then you would’ve seen snippets of it, and they also released a small segment from it along with a featurette about it on the internet close to the release of the film and it was pretty amazing. The first thing I found that I loved was the actual set, I want to go to that museum and see all the art and be like, “Clive totally owned right there” while the rest of the patrons stare at me oddly.

I’d like to also make a short note on how during this recession and many countries falling further into debt and more banks crashing Hollywood decides to produce a movie which is about a bank being the villain and how they want to keep the existence of debt in the world.

Otherwise this movie offers you nothing much else to chew on. I knew going in that the movie would disappoint me, but I left thinking even less of everyone who had anything to do with this movie. If you think you must please stop and don’t see this movie. Wait until it’s on TV so you can sit through the first 15 minutes and then change the channel.

IMDB says 6.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 58%

I say 3.0/10