ViewGuide

Created Sep 11, 2009 10:00PM PST • Edited Feb 26, 2013 10:31PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Barely OK 2.0

   Though the scattershot plot fails to hold water – or intrigue – this movie avoids disaster due to great settings and a couple of compelling performances. Note how the inimitable helix of the Guggenheim dominates the poster, proving more of a draw than Clive Owen or Naomi Watts. Indeed, the shootout at Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic museum proves reason enough to watch the movie. Or you can just watch it in the WikChip and save two hours of disappointment.

4. Acting

   OK 2.5

   Clive Owen plays like a low rent James Bond here. And does it well enough to get by.

   Naomi Watts fails to distinguish herself. Nothing surprising about that.

   The great Armin Mueller-Stahl proves yet again to be surprisingly compelling in a supporting role, just as he was in Eastern Promises.

5. Male Stars Good 3.0

6. Female Stars Barely OK 2.0

7. Female Costars Barely OK 2.0

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Barely OK 2.0

    The story is impossible to follow, believe or understand. Perhaps the filmmakers went awry when they transposed the original BCCI story from its Islamic roots to one with European origins. Who knows, but the result is a complete mess.

11. Direction Barely OK 2.0

12. Play Pretty Bad 1.5

13. Music OK 2.5

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    The Guggenheim shootout is far from perfectly staged, but the setting is nonpareil. Apparently it was shot in a painstakingly recreated mock Guggenheim. Wow.

    Another spectacular setting is what appears to be a grand mosque in Istanbul.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.5

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Fierce 1.8

19. Rudeness Salty 1.7

21. Reality

    Glib 1.3

    Obviously inspired by the BCCI scandal of the early 90s, the filmmakers should have been advised to stay close to the facts of that situation. What, a Pakistani-based bank that caters to terrorists didn’t provide enough intrigue and relevance in today’s world? One could hardly conceive of a better set up.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.9

23. Biological Glib 1.3

24. Physical Natural 1.0