Swordfish (Wide Screen) > Reviews > A Recent Release To Relish

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	Everything really
Disadvantages:	Nothing really

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

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 Pulp Fiction, and not the goof from ‘Look Who’s Talking’. 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 seen. The slow motion film combined with the Matrix like moving camera, we see the explosion from all the angles, leaving you impressed with modern technology. Producer Joel Silver of Matrix and Die Hard fame immediately gets a shaken hand, before the viewer decides to turn their attention back to the screen.

The film moves on with its fast pace, allowing you to meet Stanley (Hugh Jackman). Stanley is under a court order to not even touch a computer or go anywhere near his daughter. The one aspect of his life that tears him apart. Being the second best computer hacker in the world, his knowledge and skill are unsurprisingly wanted by gangster type Gabriel (Travolta), who sends Ginger (Halle Berry) to seduce Stanley into working for him. With plenty of money on the table, Stanley passes his interesting first test, and then becomes involved in the assistance of a high-tech bank robbery. The reasons behind the stealing of this money are nowhere to be seen until the end of the film.

A knowledge of computers is not compulsory for this film, but knowing even just a small bit about computer safety and security will make the film easier to understand, due to the complex language involved during the whole film.

Silver and Sena, directors of Gone In Sixty Seconds, do give us quite a amazing scene where a bus is carried through the air via a helicopter. Now that is tricky!

I think placing the film into one particular genre is simply impossible. Computer hacking, action, shoot-ups and conspiracy, whichever it is does not matter. The plot is so secretive that the end of the ninety-nine minute film seemed to come too slowly. I left the screening feeling confused and motivated. Thinking about the ending of the film, I was falling down a hole of desperation. As I continued to think about it, I found I was trying to work out the film wrongly, and within minutes I was thinking about previous parts during the film, and had it sussed instantly. This film will make you think, and that is what I liked about it.

The acting was nearly spot on. Travolta was cool, Jackman was believable and Berry was sexy and realistic. Vinnie Jones made a small appearance as his now stereotypical role as a henchman. Unfortunately for him, the script did not allow his character to expand, and we did not get to know the character well enough to be able to make a full judgement. Scenes from the film seemed to suggest he was not just a background henchman which made it all the more disappointing when he seemed to almost evaporate into the background.

Crikey, I think I typed the above in about five minutes! The film never stopped. It was ninety-nine minutes of pure excellence. The only time the film stopped was to incorporate a bit of comedy which seemed to lighten the film up somewhat. This was not a bad thing though, as the film did not seem to want to come across too harsh, and so the comedy element filtered the film nicely.

The film did not seem to want to stop though really. From when Jackman was busy doing his whole computing thing to the car chase, it was all high-octane stuff. Jackman when stuck in front of the computer was dressed perfectly in jeans and a grubby tee-short with the stubble to accompany, and seemed to enjoy his role in being a great hacker and virus-creator, as he smashed his fingers into the keyboard with great vigour.

The car-chase scene was also great. Lasting a fair while, Travolta (who did the driving himself) wangled in-between gaps that would only happen in a film, and the chasing 4 by 4’s seemed to be enough in number to be realistic, even if they got picked off one by one as expected. Guns and runs, it was a good chase.

Halle Berry apparently got paid x amount of dollars to show her chest, the press quoting x amount for each one. So, the directors paid for one to be shown, decided it was worth it, so paid for the other to be shown?! To be honest, the film did not need her to get ‘em out, as it seemed it was only for a comedy element, and not in the heat of any passion in the film. I paid three pounds fifty to see them, so I think I got the best deal.

The soundtrack to the film actually stood out for once… for me. The only other films which have had really noticeable soundtracks IN the film are Trainspotting and The Matrix. The soundtrack here was very much like The Matrix soundtrack, with excellent heavy dance music (prodigy style) and this was played at excellently appropriate times during the action of the film, and really got my knee grooving and my head bopping. It is mainly done by Paul Oakenfold, who is the god of trance basically! The CD can be found after a search for 'swordfish' on Audiostreet.co.uk.

This film overall is "A complex, high action thriller with great camera work to keep you glued to your seat, with an ending that takes the biscuit"

Go see!

Ta

DAN