Could the timing be more perfect for a conspiracy thriller that paints the banking community as moustache-twirling villains? With the blame for the credit crunch being leveled squarely at financial institutions, which allowed savers to borrow well above their means, The International chooses a sitting duck as its primary target.

Screenwriter Eric Warren Singer was inspired by the downfall of the Bank of Credit and Commercial International, which collapsed in 1991, just as UK and US legislators discovered details of arms dealings and money laundering.

From the seed of corporate shame blooms a fast-paced, action-packed work of fiction, pitting two ordinary people against a huge global machine with tentacles that reach into the upper echelons of power.

Money speaks louder than principles – it controls global politics, drives people to commit desperate acts and finances terrorism and wars which leave entire nations clamouring for survival.

Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) uncovers evidence of serious infringements within one of the world’s most powerful banks and resolves to bring the institution’s boardroom to justice.

However, Jonas Skarssen (Ulrich Thomsen), Wilhelm Wexler (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and their partners are wise to the investigation and hire a hit man called The Consultant (Brian F O’Byrne) to eliminate this pesky thorn in their side.

Joining forces with Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts), Louis follows the money around the world, travelling from Berlin and Milan to New York and Istanbul in the hope of gathering enough proof to expose the dodgy dealings.

However, the men in power will stop at nothing to protect their investments – even murder.

The International is distinguished by a couple of brilliantly orchestrated action sequences, directed with brio by Tykwer.

An assassination attempt on a prominent politician is a masterclass in sustained tension and slick editing, with terrific use of overhead shots of a rally where the shooting is due to take place.

However, the piece de resistance is a running gun battle in the iconic Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York, where Louis and an unlikely ally has to somehow evade heavily armed goons to make their escape.

The entire building is riddled with bullets and shattered glass.

Tykwer quite literally brings the house down.

The suspense dissipates a little as the plot gallivants around Europe; the ending in particular is an anti-climax.

Owen is strong as a man of conviction willing to go to any lengths in the name of justice but Watts is almost surplus to requirements, off screen for all of the pivotal moments.

Indeed, she could have been cut entirely without harming the narrative.

Of the uniformly solid supporting performances, Mueller-Stahl and O’Byrne make the greatest impact, but they to go out with a whimper rather than a bang.

• Release Date: Friday 27 February 2009
• Certificate: 15
• Runtime: 117mins

Pictures