Advantages: Quick Paced, Good Stunts/Acting Disadvantages: John Travolta, The Ending
...being a great actor. Swordfish is his latest film and he seems to fall somewhere in-between the two categories…
Plot – No Major Spoilers (But Feel Free To Skip!)
The film starts off with a bunch of hostages each with large amounts of explosives strapped to their bodies, and a smiling Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) explaining the problems with modern day Hollywood films – a strange combination! When the police decide to get a little ... ...you do) and says he’ll do the same to every other hostage if he has to – cue flashback, and much of the rest of the film explains how and why the situation occurred. Shear needs a hacker and enlists Stanley Jobson (played by Hugh Jackman) to help him. Now Stanley, who’s just got out of jail, just wants to be a good boy and get his daughter back (who is currently living with her alcoholic mother and porn-producing step-father) but ...
eca99ajm 14.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
You must have seen the advert. Action, guns, Travolta and Berry in her underwear. To be honest, I got all of these in the film, except it was obvious Halle Berry’s clip was there to attract the blokes.
The film opens with Travolta in a flickering, bad quality picture talking very intellectually about films. "Hollywood? They make shit!", seems to be his conclusion. It is clear from the start that this is a return to the Travolta I loved in ... ...With hair slicked back, a very ickle beard running from his lower lip, a cool voice, a cigar and an air of control around him, it was clear Travolta was going to run this film, and that he did.
The film moves on for the viewer to see the situation the film is in, a hostage situation. What followed did literally leave my mouth wide open, as my jaw dropped at the more than fantastic explosion, some of the best seconds of action I think I have ever ...
danradders 29.07.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: See text of opinion Disadvantages: See text of opinion
...at dooyoo!)
~ ~ Swordfish has a very unusual opening sequence.
We see Travolta’s character, Gabriel Shear, sitting drinking coffee and waxing lyrical about the shortcomings of Hollywood films.
"You know, the problem with Hollywood is that they make sh*t," he informs us, as he gives his critique of the old 1970’s movie, "Dog Day Afternoon".
In fact, I originally thought I’d pressed the wrong button on the DVD’s remote control, ... ...world-class hacker of this stature, Swordfish describes it for you very graphically. At least a dozen computer monitors are required, along with endless and copious amounts of wine and strong espresso coffee. Stanley bounces around like a demented rock star, juggling his various 3D and text images, and playing with his keyboards like a man possessed. Mind you, anyone would be wired to the moon after that amount of espresso and wine!! ~ ~ Other actors ...
the_mad_cabbie 17.02.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: Beautifully orchestrated action sequences. Disadvantages: Very little else.
You have 60 seconds to read this op. I often find that people use the word gratuitous gratuitously. A bit of ankle is gratuitous nudity, the odd heck is gratuitous language and the occasional stubbed toe is gratuitous violence. But this film is just that. Gratuitous to the extreme. ~Cast~ John Travolta..........Gabriel Shear Hugh Jackman.......Stanley Jobson Halle Berry..............Ginger Knowles Don Cheadle..........Agent A.D. Roberts Vinnie Jones..........Marco ... ...Martin..........Axel Torvald Zach Grenier..........A.D. Joy Drea de Matteo.....Melissa Jobson ~Synopsis~ Stanley Jobson is a desperate computer expert who finds himself coerced into helping hack into complicated computer system in order to steal some vast sum of money that technically doesn't exist by Gabriel Shear, a mysterious figure, who may or may not work for people in high places. Stanley finds himself battling not only for his own survival, ...
T-Boy67 01.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: lots of actions Disadvantages: maybe confusing at times
...have seen from the adverts Swordfish is an action film, but with a bit of everything. It stars a very sleek looking John Travolta, playing Gabriel the bad guy of the film. Hugh Jackman playing Stanley, once one of the best computer hackers in the world, now living in a caravan unable to see his daughter his one hope in life, and halle Berry playing Ginger who seems to work for Gabriel.
The film opens with Gabriel discussing films and how, why the ... ...don’t like unhappy endings”. Gabriel seems to disagree and eventually gets up and leaves being confronted by a small group of swat teems, it is here we realize what has is happening.
I think I can say, without a doubt this film has one of the best openings I have ever seen. There is an explosion (I wont tell you how it occurs) then some amazing special effects as the camera seems to follow the shock wave tossing people and cars, it was ...
stes.da.man 01.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: Good opening sequence. Hugh Jackman. Cool soundtrack. Disadvantages: Seen it all before. Will date easily. Ending a bit ropey.
A magazine consists of three essential elements. Staples to hold the whole thing together, pages to make up the bulk, and a celebrity feature to make you buy it.
And once you've read the celebrity feature, there's only usually a couple of things to read in the magazine to hold your interest. The same applies to this desperate attempt to create a cool, modern thriller.
This is (the clumsily titled) Swordfish.
***THE PLOT***
The story follows Hugh ... ...most good-lookingest - hackers, seduced (kinda) by the very non-ginger Ginger, played by Halle Berry (X-Men, The Flintstones) into helping out Gabriel's criminal team after their original choice makes a blunder at customs. Hugh is taken to Gabriel's trendy club, where he is forced (in a rather odd scene) to hack into the FBI's computer in 60 seconds (maybe a nod to the director Dominic Sena's previous effort, Gone In 60 Seconds), which comes as a ...
peppersinclaire 30.07.2001 (11.04.2004)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: Travolta, Jackman and Halle's bits Disadvantages: Daft
...jobs to the fore.
Swordfish is one glamorous, glossy, modernistic little crime epic and has an awful lot going for it. It doesn't really need the dig it in your groin tricks which populate vast stretches of its landscape. However, as Gabriel tries to persuade the ace hacker Stan (Hugh Jackman) to climb on board with his evil schemes, it's a gun to the head and a sexy blonde prising her lips around Hughie's big end to test his abilities against the ... ...to whet our appetite, because Swordfish has enough tricks and dips to keep you going for hours without the gratuitous soft porno scenes.
Aye, let's not get too worked up and morally uptight because increasingly sex is an ever present thing in the modern day world of cinema - why even JRR Tolkien's sword and sorcery works get the misty eyed lust treatment with Strider double dealing with an elf and a human princess while Legolamb and Gimlet get it ...
dave27 01.02.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: great acting from all involved, even Vinnie Jones!, Not the usual summer blockbuster, so offers something the others don’t., The directing and production, exemplified by the first few sequences of the film Disadvantages: Is a little inconsistent in places, Look at John Travolta’s hair cut!!
Looking for a movie in the recent abyss of those the cinema is offering. Didn’t fancy seeing ‘Recess’ and the boyfriend refused to see ‘Cats and Dogs’ which was my choice so the only viable alternative (having already seen Jurassic Park 3) was Swordfish. I have been suffering from a recent bout of an illness I simply cannot get rid of and so have not been out of the house a lot lately, being extremely tired I half expected ... ...to the land of nod. However the film proved to offer more than I initially thought. I would like to take the credit for choosing the movie but the honour lies with the other half. We know its summer when the recent movies out are the big action blockbuster films and sequels, hence the very disappointing offering from the Jurassic Park camp. Being a person who hates anything bordering on a chick flick and loving something to get the adrenaline pumping ...
ickle_devil 06.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
...off and relax – and Swordfish was one of the more popular cinema releases of 2001, so I was hoping for good things. Stanley Jobson is a former world-class computer hacker. Following a prison sentence, Jobson is on parole, and lives a paltry existence, sleeping and eating in a rusty old trailer van, forbidden to access any computer system. One evening, Stanley is visited at home by a beautiful young woman, Ginger, who advises that her employer ... ...stalking his every move.
Swordfish is a surprisingly original and relatively innovative piece of modern-day cinema. Continually, deliberately blurring the lines between the good buys and the bad guys, this is a morality tale for the 21st century. The plot twists and turns right from the outset and, according to when you watched this movie, your reaction to the theme will vary considerably. Without giving anything away, whether you watched this pre ...
LostWitness 01.02.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: Great story, loads of action Disadvantages: No need for the shots of Halle Berrys breasts
...I was pleasantly surprised.
Swordfish is full of attitude, energy and action. Director Dominic Sena’s previous film was Gone in 60 seconds starring Nicolas Cage, but Swordfish is much better and a lot more interesting. Here’s the story
In the opening scene Gabriel (John Travolta) is giving a speech about how terrible modern Hollywood cinema is and discusses Dog Day Afternoon. Then we realise Gabriel is in a similar robbery situation ... ...Gone in 60 Seconds – Swordfish makes some more developed characters. The rest are the usual type: a seductress, a tough cop, henchmen, and the shadowy villain. Swordfish is a good film, but can be complicated and confusing at times. The script is sometimes all over the place and some parts are a little unbelievable. But it was clever and the ending was surprising.
Hugh Jackman is fantastic as he shows he’s the a great actor and not trying ...
beck100 20.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: All your fav people in one film Disadvantages: 95mins a bit short
...About the movie //
Swordfish is the password that terrorist leader Gabriel uses about his mission he thinks what he is doing is beneficial for his country and for the whole of the USA. He is a spy for a senator and creates nuclear weapons underground. But he needs to hack into a bank system which he can transfer money out of banks and into his own personal account and to do this he needs the help from the worlds number one hacker Stanley. Stanley ... ...//
You can buy Swordfish on video or even DVD. It comes in a black plastic hard case video cover, with a PVC label which has Swordfish in Green and pictures of Stanley, Gabriel, Ginger and the FBI agent sitting down in front of a lap top computer. At the back of the box is a small description of what the film is about and how it’s classified and some other additional information and some small images which are small clips of the contents of the ...
sweet_bah 25.01.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: Engaging from start to finish Disadvantages: n/a
...only saw the trailer to Swordfish last week when i went to see Tomb Raider and was pretty impressed, so when my plans to take my
niece to watch Shrek on my afternoon off yesterday fell apart, i
wasn't very chuffed as i really wanted to watch it. Nevertheless,
i soldiered on pretty determined to do so, but the sight of all
those kiddies in front of me in the queue clampering to buy tickets put me off. I wasn't brave enough to be the only solo ... ...with the review. Swordfish is a thriller starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman,
Halle Berry and Don Cheadle. The main story centres around
an ex-imprisoned computer hacker (the second best in the world)
who is drafted by Travolta's operation after the first best
computer hacker runs into trouble ( i won't tell you what so as not
spoil that part for you ). The whole purpose of the operation is to embezzle a cool $9.5 billion
into Gabriel's (Travolta) ...
kleft 03.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
...a couple of clips of Swordfish and thought that it looked excellent so decided to spend the hard earned cash to give it a go. I was however slightly disappointed. It makes it appear in the trailers that it is an action film but it is actually a really slow thriller. Don’t get me wrong it is entertaining but I was slightly let down.
The plot involves Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) is a rich guy who does what he likes. What he wants most though ... ...billions of dollars. There is one problem. The Account is protected by the best security system know to man. Shear therefore recruits Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) a retired hacker to break through the security. IT is full of twists and turns that occasion get confusing but overall it is a pretty good plot. The only problem is that it is slightly slow as I said.
The acting is brilliant. John Travolta is superb as Shear and plays it cool no matter ...
elspeth334 15.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: Great Sound & Picture, Highly Entertaining, Good Extras Disadvantages: Not That Subtle
...In a way Swordfish reminds me of all the un-apologetic action films to come out of the eighties. My only problem with it that some of it is shot like a music video whihc can be explained by the fact that music video/commercials director Dominic Sena (Gone In 60 Seconds) is sitting in the directors chair. But don't let that put you off, this is far better than his last film and if I still haven't persuaded you then Halle Berry goes topless for the ... ...for your buck. DVD love's Swordfish and Swordfish loves the DVD sound format. If that wasn't enough then you get some decent extras to flick through after the film has ended. The menus for once aren't animated, they're purely static with a techno beat. Thank god, animated menus are really getting annoying on dvd release. Show me the film already! AUDIO COMMENTARY ----------------- Director Dominic Sena sit's down to talk you through the film. The ...
utero 13.03.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
Advantages: good actors, nice story Disadvantages: something seems unreal, strange, known
...15 years ago the operation Swordfish was cancelled and on the account of the dummy-company for this operation were 400 Million Dollars. Through interest this money is now worth 9 billion. Gabriel wants to steal this money.
At the beginning, Stan seems to have a normal and fair deal with Gabriel – he programs, Gabriel gives him the money. But Stan gets deeper and deeper into the whole thing – he finds out strange things, the FBI interviews ... ...Stan does’nt – at the moment. The whole story leads to a dramatic climax where a hostage is bombed and Holly’s and Ginger’s lifes are threatened.
What I think
---------------
The film starts with the beginning of the end, goes back to the past the and leads us to the presence after explaining what happened the last days. That is nicely done, even if it is nor a new technique in movies.
The three main parts are casted very ...
Shue 01.08.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Swordfish (DVD)
The sort of action thriller for which the phrase "high octane" could have been ... more
conceived,Swordfishstars John Travolta as Gabriel Shear, an enigmatic criminal operator who is as admired as he is feared. Using sexy sidekick Ginger (Halle Berry) as bait, ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Log on, tap in and kick back for cyber-edged action and suspense. Your password for ... more
excitement is SWORDFISH.Use a computer, go to prison. The terms of Stanley Jobson's (Hugh Jackman - X-Men) parole are clear. Yet a $10 million payday awaits the super h...
The sort of action thriller for which the phrase "high octane" could have been ... more
conceived,Swordfishstars John Travolta as Gabriel Shear, an enigmatic criminal operator who is as admired as he is feared. Using sexy sidekick Ginger (Halle Berry) as bait, ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Log on. Hack in. Go anywhere. Steal everything. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear a ... more
sinister mastermind with an elite criminal crew who are desperately trying to access information locked inside a complicated computer system that contains governme...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Production Year: 1995 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Sean Bean, Daragh O'Malley, Allie Byrne, Oliver Cotton, Emily Mortimer, Michael Cochrane
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1996 - Action/Adventure - Director: Tom Clegg - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Daragh O'Malley, Oliver Cotton, Jason Durr, Sean Bean, Allie Byrne
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Action/Adventure - Director: The Wachowski Brothers - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Monica Bellucci, Jada Pinkett