It's really hard to put a movie like North by Northwest in perspective. It feels like a by-the-numbers thriller, but it was one of the movies that helped to create thriller cliches in the first place. Watching it fifty years after the fact dampens its effect, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it.
The viewer is taken on a lightweight thrill ride with the impossibly charismatic Cary Grant as the perfect host: charming and dryly funny even when faced with some hilariously unlikely situations (obviously the most efficient way to kill someone is to lure them into the middle of nowhere on a two-hour bus ride and then attempt to fly a plane into them, duh), but smart enough to save the day in the end. His chemistry with Eva Marie Saint, however, was cold at best, and this renders the final third of the film completely limp.
There are no incredibly surprising plot developments, but it is beautifully shot with some brilliant camerawork. The shot looking down on the forecourt of the United Nations building actually made me rewind back to watch it again. Just gorgeous.
