Parents' Guide to

The International

By James Rocchi, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Gritty '70s-style thriller is cynical, grim, and violent.

Movie R 2009 118 minutes
The International Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 3 parent reviews

age 14+

Worth watching but not for young ones

More truth that what one would like to admit. Lot of violence. Definitely not for the younger ones. good movie with some twists.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
age 11+

worth watching in theaters

this movie is really good better than i thought becuse the trailer looked stupid really a bank is higher than the authorities bull crap. Not to violent good script and suspenful parts meade this movie very good

This title has:

Too much violence

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (5):

This film is cynical, conspiracy-minded, and refreshingly down-to-the-ground. Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), The International is a throwback to '70s thrillers like Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View -- mean, methodically made movies with a strong cynical streak and no built-in guarantee that good will triumph over evil.

And yet you do find yourself a little torn watching The International; much like Michael Clayton, it's a film that promises rock-'em-sock-'em thrills in the trailer and ad campaign and then provides a much more dramatic, disquieting experience. But unlike Michael Clayton, The International never quite catches -- in part thanks to a gripping action sequence set at the Guggenheim in New York that makes everything else feel a little anticlimactic. Still, The International has a moral and intellectual backbone that elevates it far above most modern thrillers.

Movie Details

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