The Tourist

After winning an Oscar for his debut "The Lives of Others", all doors were open for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in Hollywood as well. And so, with his second directorial effort, he presents an entertaining romantic adventure starring two of the biggest stars Hollywood currently has to offer: Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.

The remake of the French thriller "Fleeting Point Nice" ("Anthony Zimmer") tells the story of American math teacher Frank (Johnny Depp), who actually travels to Venice to overcome the loss of a great love. But even before he arrives in the romantic city, a very big adventure begins for the unassuming tourist. He is approached by the attractive Elise (Angelina Jolie) on the train, unaware that this chance encounter is part of an elaborate plan to make the police and other pursuers believe that Frank is an internationally wanted criminal. And indeed, the plan seems to be working, as bullets soon start flying around the teacher's ears. But even though Elise has dragged him into this murderous adventure, it soon becomes clear to Frank that he doesn't want to leave it again without her...

The production of "The Tourist" was not really under a good star. Tom Cruise was initially scheduled to play the lead role, but was replaced by "Avatar" star Sam Worthington. The latter, however, reportedly didn't really get along with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who in turn had replaced British filmmaker Bharat Nalluri, who had been hired to replace Lasse Hallström as director. And Angelina Jolie's role was also originally supposed to be played by Charlize Theron. All the back and forth behind the scenes is not really noticeable in the film. But you can sense that this commissioned work was not really a passion project for any of the people involved.

But that doesn't mean that "The Tourist" doesn't have a high entertainment value. Granted, the viewer isn't particularly challenged here, especially not on an intellectual level. But sometimes it is quite pleasant to just be sprinkled by beautiful pictures, well staged action, tingling romance and well dosed humor. Many may have expected higher standards from the director for his second film and more character depth from the two superstars. And yes, in that regard, "The Tourist" disappoints. But as a simple cinematic pleasure, peppered with the odd homage (e.g. to "On the Roofs of Nice"), the film works very well.

Although Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck can't live up to the high expectations placed on him after his Oscar win here, he does at least show that he can at least do other material solidly. At the beginning of the film, which starts in the spirit of "The Lives of Others" with a surveillance sequence, the director builds a kind of bridge to his debut, only to then go in a completely different direction. He knows how to put his two stars in the right light, which in the case of Angelina Jolie seems to be a bit too much limited to her beguiling hip swing. However, even with the level of commitment greatly scaled down, both Jolie and Depp offer performances that are thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

So, all things considered, "The Tourist" is light, entertaining fare, with plenty of beautiful images of Venice and the two leads, which, while it can't hold a candle to the French original with Sophie Marceau, nor convince as a follow-up to "The Lives of Others", does provide the viewer with over 90 minutes of light, carefree entertainment. And that's exactly what, presented in such a way, can be fun in the cinema. Because as Johannes Mario Simmel said so beautifully: "It doesn't always have to be caviar".

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp