The Tourist (2010)

Two of the biggest movie stars of all time collide in this action comedy set in the absolutely stunning streets of Venice.

Johnny Depp plays Frank Tupelo, a tourist from America who travels to the splendour of Europe, only to find himself caught up in the explosive lives of murderous hit men, rampaging police detectives, and the gorgeous crook Elise (Angelina Jolie). Elise purposively chooses Frank as a decoy for the police as they hunt an elusive thief, who is also her lover. Alongside this, Elise, and therefore Frank, have to avoid being caught by a vicious mobster and his cronies, who want retribution after Elise’s lover stole a huge amount of money from them.

It is a film that brings in many moments of humour, quirky little action sequences, and a breathtaking cinematography. The script has some excellent sections; well timed lines with tongue-in-cheek moments. Depp is enigmatic as always, and it is nice to see him portraying a lifelike character, after so many of the Burton-esque ones of recent years. Jolie does well to bring an unusual intrigue to her character in this film, as it could have been rather shallow in the hands of a lesser actress.

The most impressive part of this film though, is the location. It is beautiful to watch, and feels like a mini holiday as you watch them travel around the beautiful streets of Venice, with soothing orchestral music in the background.

The plot is like a short-story for a James Bond book, not much different to the recent action film Knight and Day (2010), but without the ridiculousness of the stunts.

A film to watch if you like comedy action films, or if you love Italy (like me), but a film to avoid if you hate far-fetched, suspect circumstantial plot-lines.