The Philippines have this tradition that every Christmas holiday, they don’t allow showing of international movies. This is the reason why we had to wait for January 8 before we can watch The Tourist starring Johnny Depp & Angelina Jolie.
The wait was worth it. I know this movie might have a lot of negative reviews due to its story. I must admit just seeing Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the movie was enough for me. It was eye candy all throughout. Angelina was too beautiful and sexy while Johnny Depp was just Johnny Depp. It was so glad to see Johnny Depp in a different light as I’ve grown tired seeing him as a pirate 😛
The Tourist is all about finding Alexander Pearce (played by Johnny Depp) . Pearce having stolen a gangster’s money worth 2 billion plus owing British government tax money makes him a target.
Elise (played by Angelina Jolie) was supposed to work undercover for British Government against Pearce but ended up falling in love with him. Now, both the gangsters & British government were watching her too.
I’m not gonna expound more on the story as it will spoil your movie experience. If you watch movies to be entertained then you’ll enjoy this. Not too serious and not too dramatic, sometimes we just want simple movies like the Tourist.
I loved the twist and I wasn’t expecting it until around the middle of the movie. Having 2 big good-looking stars in the movie really made watching it enjoyable. Some might argue that Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie tandem doesn’t have chemistry. For me, it worked pretty well.
Have you watched the tourist? What do you think?
My Rating for The Tourist: 4 out of 5 stars
The long wait is over. I finally saw The Tourist on Jan.8, the first day of showing of the said movie in the Philippines.
What can I say but I was NOT disappointed but rather was truly entertained…..really….honestly!…… with a very good feeling….definitely with a very good smile on our faces…..and absolutely NOT feeling “short-changedâ€â€¦no….NOT at all! In fact, my friend will watch it again, this time with her office workers while i will be watching it too with another set of friends…..
My friend & I had so much fun that we watched it twice in the same afternoon. We left the cinema with a very light heart. We kept talking & talking about the movie…the scenes…the dialogue….even while we were in the women’s room area…and the people who were there were also talking about it…..I could really feel the satisfied reactions of the people. When we were in a restaurant, we didn’t talk anything but mainly about the movie. My friend & I watched the movie together but we were talking about it all the time….remembering the scenes….
The Tourist is different from the movies of the same genre I have ever seen. The humor is very good. European humor is interesting…very good actually. It has gorgeous locales. What I like the most is it has taken the viewers for a ride! It’s actually an intelligent film in a different kind of way. Considering the initial unfair reviews, I didn’t expect it to be somehow an “intelligent†film but was in fact very surprised that one moment I thought it is what it is BUT then the next second it’s different. NOT everything I saw or heard is what it seems! I had to think too you know. It has many twists & turns which I really loved. Sure one may say it’s unbelievable but it never pretended to be real in the first place. Movies are mostly make-believe anyway which the main goal of the people behind The Tourist is to make the viewers feel good about life & to have fun. Not all the time the public want to watch movies with dark themes or stupid comedy scenes or slapstick.
By the way, The Tourist is actually better watched on a big screen because of its European setting and the gorgeousness of the lead stars. It has marvelous cinematography. It’s better enjoyed in the cinema & laughed together with other moviegoers while watching the film. It’s fun to listen to the various reactions of the viewers too…the surprised reactions…the giggles….the laughter….the “whatsâ€â€¦.the “goshâ€â€¦.the “oh noâ€â€¦.the “ah†….everything…it’s really fun. As I’ve said, we we were really taken for a ride and loved it so much! Actually, the second viewing is priceless as we anticipate the reactions of the people! We also laughed not only about the movie scenes but on the audience’s reactions as well.
My friend & I were seated between two foreigners (one is Spanish looking woman, & the other is a “middle-east†looking guy), so we were curious on their reactions too. They were serious at first but really laughing afterward. I’ve noticed the viewers were mostly in their mid 30’s and up. There were also teenagers but there were more young professionals & mature audience.
About the lead stars, well you can never be disappointed with Angelina Jolie. She always delivers & more. Sure, she is very very beautiful & could be distracted watching her BUT she happens to be an attractive lady who acts very well. As someone said, “….Jolie displays a firm grip on her character’s emotional journey……..She hardly moves or says anything, but her eyes convey emotional avalanche…..â€. She is very funny too. And she’s good because she doesn’t try to be funny…but she is funny….
About Johnny Depp…now I understand why he looks the way he looked in the movie. It has a purpose. It was intentional. He was never meant to be a hunk. He was meant to be Frank! He has the most funny lines in the movie.
Paul Bettany is my favorite among the supporting cast. He acted his role very well. He is very convincing & I felt the pain of his controlled feeling about a certain character. I hope he can act again with AJ in the future just like how I wish JD could work with AJ again too.
The rest of the cast like Rufus Sewell….he really played a very important role. It may be small but significant.
AJ & JD chemistry is not the usual chemistry that the audience is used to. They have chemistry, I am sure about that but it’s subtle. It’s meant not to be the chemistry that many critics are looking for. It has to be that way so as not to defeat the storyline’s purpose.
This is the film that I will HIGHLY recommend to my friends & relatives. And am surely going to buy its DVD copy when it comes out…..
I love Angelina for her beauty. Besides movies like Original Sin, Girl, Interrupted; Gia, Hell’s Kitchen, and Beyond Borders, all other movies she had exhibited lousy performance. I don’t know what happened to her acting talent. After her Gia and Original Sin, I was expecting she’d sharpen her craft. 🙁
Sorry, I forgot to include that her performance in Tourist wasn’t impressive to me too, which was unlike Depp’s. But hey, I’d still watch all of her upcoming movies. 😉
I have not seen “The Tourist” but you have made it simple for me to go and order it on PPV in HD. I love Johnny Depp and seeing him out of Jack Sparrow makes me happy. I love him in “Secret Window” that proved he could act for me. Angelina Jolie is really good as well going back to “Tomb Raider” both amazing there. I have asked so many of my DISH co-workers about this movie and I have always received the same answer “It’s OK” or “It’s good”. So ordering the movie is all I can do to get my own valid opinion on the movie, of course after reading the reviews which I have not seen one really bad review yet!