The Tourist

I am a huge fan of Johnny Depp. I could watch him read a phone book and find it entertaining. I am also a fan of Angelina Jolie so when I heard she was doing a movie with Johnny Depp I was excited and couldn’t wait to go see “The Tourist”.

We open with a van sitting on a street, the men inside observing the occupant of an apartment. When the occupant finally emerges, we find it is British socialite Elise Ward (Angelina Jolie) and the men watching her are an assortment of Scotland Yard and Italian Interpol. After receiving a letter from a mystery man that is the main interest of the men in the van, Elise gives them the slip and boards a train where she meets American math teacher Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp). Elise flirts it up with an awkward Frank and ends up embroiling him in the drama she is involved in. Her “boyfriend”, Alexander Pearce, has stolen millions from a mobster and is wanted by Scotland Yard, Italian Interpol, and the mobster. Naturally, Frank is mistaken for Alexander after having plastic surgery to change his looks and mishap after mishap occurs.

What worked:
Johnny Depp is so charming as the bungling Frank, out of his element and getting into trouble because of a woman.

Angelina Jolie plays the woman of mystery perfectly. She doesn’t talk much, just gives coy smiles.

Paul Bettany as the Scotland Yard investigator determined to catch Alexander Pearce was well played.

The scenery was gorgeous.

The plot twists made the story fall in place.

Rufus Sewell popping up in sporadic scenes, leaving you to wonder who he was and what his deal was.


What didn’t work:

There was lukewarm chemistry between Jolie & Depp. It almost felt as if they were holding back the whole time. (Of course, rumors ran rampant the whole time it was filming that Johnny Depp's girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis, had demanded that love scenes be cut...) These two actor's generally have amazing chemistry with everyone they act with, it was odd how off it felt.

You never really learned enough about the character of Elise Ward to really be that invested in her supposed great love affair with Alexander Pearce.

Some overdrawn scenes made the plot drag at points.

If you are a fan of Johnny Depp, you will like him in the movie. If you are a fan of Angelina Jolie, I don’t know if you will overly enjoy the movie. It is a good movie, just a little plodding at times.