HAYWIRE Movie Review
By: RAMA
Was this the action movie that RAMA wanted to see? Will this movie turn MMA star Gina Carano into a Hollywood star? Make sure to follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Director Steven Soderbergh doing an action flick starring a real MMA fighter, what is there not to like about HAYWIRE?! Plus it’s written by Lem Dobbs who gave us Soderbergh’s old great film, The Limey. You want another reason to like HAYWIRE? How ’bout this, the supporting actors are A-list names who are on top of their game. O and did I mention that Gina Carano kicks serious ass because unlike skinny Saldana or Jolie, Carano can literally kick your ass. Action film doesn’t get more grounded and more solid than HAYWIRE..
Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.
Using her black-ops military training, she devises an ingenious—and dangerous—trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she’ll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary.
Steven Soderbergh is one of those filmmakers who I can easily trust, by that I mean whenever I hear there’s a film made by Soderbergh, you can count me in because I know I’ll be treated with good stories handled by a master who always aims to dig deeper and find those extra layers. I wasn’t too crazy about Contagion but that was mostly because the film bit off more than it could chew.
I personally don’t find Dobb’s HAYWIRE script to be too complex, I actually find the whole thing a bit thin, but it’s not too simple that it might insult your intelligence. You could see the pawns in this chess game, who’s pulling the strings, which one has more power over the others, beware the quiet ones, but the story fits nicely in between one action sequence after another.
They mean to design HAYWIRE as a throwback to old James Bond films but I think HAYWIRE has enough kicks to be taken as an original espionage thriller.
What I appreciate about HAYWIRE is that it’s not an over-the-top, excessive, CG-laden action film. Other films brag about being grounded in reality, I think HAYWIRE can shut their mouths because for the most part of the film, what you see is what you get. And no offense to Statham’s beating up 50 guys at a time, which is excitingly far-fetched, but what Carano’s character Mallory Kane offers is a more creative set of fighting styles, and the result is a very realistic choreography, each fight doesn’t drag, often times it’s just one, two move and done. Little to no acrobatic wire work and lavish special effects. The action in this film is physically possible. I think it’s brilliant that Soderbergh chooses to not have any music accompany the fight sequences, there’s music for the car chases and the dramatic scenes and when shots are fired but as soon as the fights start, all you see and hear are the fights. Brilliant!
I’m saving the best part for this last paragraph, Gina Carano. What a revelation! Finally, a convincing, believable female action star who can also look elegant and beautiful.
At first I was a bit concerned knowing that I’d be watching a film where a bunch of guys, famous guys I might add, were punching and kicking a woman. But after researching more on Carano, I became more concerned for the guys instead.
Actingwise, I think Carano does a fine job, she looks like a fast and disciplined learner, she holds her ground when facing such giants as Banderas and Douglas who’ve been in the business for years. Carano is sexy and lethal.
My favorite scene would have to be the brutal hand-to-hand combat between Carano’s character, Mallory Kane and Michael Fassbender’s character, Paul, in the hotel room. It’s intense, chaotic, and thrilling. The first fight scene with Tatum is just as badass because you never know how far they’d hurt each other. But I’m sure that being a fighter, Carano finds all that to be her comfort zone. I hope we’ll see her in more action films because she has what it takes, her future is bright in cinema.
GRADE: 4 out of 5
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