Z/Web

The critics were savaging this so badly I almost didn’t go see it. I have no idea what they are talking about. I liked it. It’s definitely not a great film. It’s definitely flawed. Angelina Jolie is miscast and she and Depp don’t have the best chemistry. The plot is weird and the ending predictable, but here’s the thing: this is not a serious movie. There’s an air of fun to the proceedings, even in the serious scenes, that gives everything a hint of silliness as though the writers, actors, and director are all winking and sharing a joke with us. The Paris and Venice settings are beautiful, the people are beautiful, and the adventure is wild and silly. Take the “boat chase” for instance. I’d read a comment on some website mocking the “slow chase” but when I saw it, I didn’t see it as negative, but as a hilarious insider’s joke. Basically the boat is moving so slowly (it’s towing another boat and can’t go fast) that people on land are outrunning the boat on foot! Hilarious! It’s not meant to be a true high-adrenaline chase scene, but a spoof of a chase scene. The whole film is a caper. Johnny Depp is having a blast, hamming up his role like he does in the those Pirates movies, but in a far more subtle fashion (here he shows almost robotic expressions, reminding me of his performance in Edward Scissorhands, but there’s a hint of a smile as he does so). Jolie looks pretty, but doesn’t fit the role of the double agent she’s supposed to be, and I thought the suggestion that her million-dollar character “falls in love with any man she spends more than five minutes with” absurd as she comes across as exactly the opposite. Despite the flaws, I had fun, and enjoyed the repartee between the two main characters. The plot is somewhat clever, but succeeds mostly because it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The ending is predictable but so satisfying that you don’t care. Ignore the critics. Have a sense of humor and go see this film.