Swordfish (Wide Screen) > Reviews > 300,000 dollars for boobs and worth every penny

Author's product rating:   

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

Advantages:	great acting from all involved, even Vinnie Jones ! , Not the usual summer blockbuster, so offers something the others don& # 8217;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& # 8217;s hair cut !  !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

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 sink into the big comfy seats and wander away 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 I wanted a good horror movie, but settled for the fast paced crime thriller/action instead.

I was a little dismayed about the opening scene, a group of men sat around a table drinking coffee and John Travolta (Gabriel Shear) going on about how Hollywood makes rubbish movies (although I must say he uses stronger language) and giving his idea of what should happen in the end, i.e. the bad guy can get away with it. I didn’t realise what was going on until his speech had finished and the film got going.

Sinking into the chair I went into reluctant mode and was blown away by the ‘Matrix like’ sequence in the opening scenes. It is one of the best action sequences I have seen since the lobby scene in the excellent Matrix. If we cast are minds back to the warping blockbuster of years gone by you will remember the 360 degree turning of the camera whilst slowing the action and moving to a fresh angle. This film has it and does it exceptionally, well it caught my attention for the whole film!

We are then transported to 4 days earlier in order for the opening sequences to make sense, i.e. tell you what the hell was going on! So the story, well the gist of it, is that there is several billions of dollars left unaccounted for in a bank account somewhere. The coded DEA account has in it over $9 billion, a nice little sum then, that has been earning interest in the ‘slush fund’ for years. Gabriel Shear is an agent, who is working for a senator, who wants to acquire the money in order to fund a private army that will stop terrorist attacks on America. The problem is though that Gabriel needs someone who can hack into the system guarded by code and encryptions.

Ginger (Halle Berry) is the woman to make top computer hacker Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) break his parole and help the group get their hands on the hoards of cash. Low and behold here comes another problem, if he touches a computer he goes back to jail, so some incentives are needed. How about $100,000 just to meet with the infamous Gabriel? Well that and the tactical use of his daughter Holly.

So how does the aluring Ginger and slick Gabriel get the reluctant washed out hacker to join them, simply by offering him a cool $10 million for his services. More than enough to set him and his daughter up for life. However moving in new circles soon wears thin for Stanley as he comes to terms with the realisation that what you see is not always what you get and nothing is ever what it seems to be.

As with all crime films there is a cop on the trail of the group, although he never gets the chance of catching up and remains one or two steps behind them all the way.

This films has amazing character profiles and depths, I suppose it can be compared to those in ‘The Usual Suspects’ although their depths and shadiness do not compare to that brilliant film. You will find that the dice has many faces and each character has a face for a different occasion. Nothing is what it seems and you need to keep on your toes. They are complex things, just like the real humans then.

As the audience we can see both the good and bad in people, like Gabriel. Yes he is a terrorist (no better word) and is willing to sacrifice as many innocent lives as it takes to achieve his goal, but in the end what he wants we can appreciate. He only wants to protect his country, in the best way he can think. Therefore can his character be all that bad? As they say one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.
As I have said nothing is black and white!

Cast and their performances…

Gabriel Shear - John Travolta
One point here is that you have to look beyond the rather stupid hear style and little strip of facial hair this character classes as good to have attached to your face. The first thing I did when I say Mr. Travolta was laugh, simply because in my opinion he looks ridiculous. However he offers a great performance as the main character. As with all those in this film no character is clear and there are both good and bad sides to them. I was a little skeptical as Mr. Travolta has failed to live up to some of his better performances, whilst this is not his best it is by no means going to be his worst. He offers a great performance as the ‘bady’ and with his image carries it off well. I think he is vest suited to playing the bad guy, just look at ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Face Off’ for examples of this. So in a nutshell he oozes sophistication in this role and plays it to a t!

Ginger - Halle Berry
The gorgeous (yes from a female point of view) Halle Berry has been a little quite recently, well apart from the disappointing ‘X-Men’. She plays the manipulative and very sexually provocative ‘partner’ of Gabriel. Like the rest of his women she has to look and we sense can do the deed as it were. Ginger not only looks cracking but she has a brilliant mind as well, as she puts it “Are you surprised that a woman with an IQ over 70 can give you a hard on?” She knows her computers and how to hack into systems but she does not have the expertise of Stanley. Reports have suggested that she received and extra $300,000 to $500,000 to show her assets. But I put it to you, from the woman’s side; they were worth every penny extra! Although I must say I thought the use of them was not necessary. With sex coming out of her ass and wearing great clothes Miss. Berry could not be replaced as Ginger.

Stanley Jobson - Hugh Jackman
What a stud! This bloke looks good in the beginning when he is a bit of ruff and even better once the designer gear works its magic. Playing the computer hacker who has just got out of prison Jackman offers a first class performance. Not a lot more to say really, he has the look and can talk the talk to perfection. After seeing this I figure that Jackman will be catapulted to the top of the most wanted actors in the world of Hollywood, and rightly so!

Agent A.D. Roberts - Don Cheadle
I don’t have the greatest of opinions on this, except that Cheadle plays the role well and has a little dark edge to add to the goody side of the world of the law. He is a stressed out agent who specialises in catching computer criminals, like Jobson.

Marco - Vinnie Jones
When Vinnie Jones when to Hollywood in search of fame as an actor I will admit I laughed and thought he was being stupid. I still do but I must say he has made and impression. Having not seen any of his offerings ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ springs to mind I was a little shocked when his face popped up on the screen. Yet I must say, no matter how reluctant I am to do so, he played a cracking bad guy. A little bit stiff and I felt his accent was a little out of place but not to knock the bloke, first class bit of acting from the football player.

Holly Jobson - Camryn Grimes
Very cute little girl who I don’t believe I have come across before. She seems to have a lot of potential and a good talent, but we didn’t really get to see a lot of that in this film. A great performance nether the less and one which she can be proud of in years to come.

Directing and stuff…

Dominic Sena whom is known for ‘Gone in 60 seconds’ directed and produced by Joel Silver who’s talents were made clear by ‘The Matrix’. That explains the similarities in some of the sequences to that used in ‘The Matrix’. Sena and Silver show off their abilities well in this film and bring the movie to you and hit you in the face as it were. First class directing and producing, but did we expect anything less from these two? I think the best scene in the film, well bar the masterpiece of ‘bullet time’ action, has to be a sequence with a helicopter and a flying bus, you have to see it to believe it happens!

Soundtrack…

No film would be complete without a great soundtrack and this is no exception. Paul Oakenfold works his magic to add new dimensions to the film, and boy does he have talent. I suppose it just stays in line with the rest of the film, full of some great performances and talented young people.

Extras…

- Rated 15, due to violence and nudity (well boobs)

- 100 minutes long, but doesn’t seem like it

- Website http://operationswordfish.com

The bottom line is this film is not the average big action blockbuster, it offers a great story line, which despite being a little hard to follow unravels with ease and sophistication. This has got to be one of the best films I have seen this year with a great cast and an inspiration to all those run of the mill movies out there. Sadly it will never live up to the likes of the ‘Matrix’ but still a brilliant offering in itself and one I am glad I didn’t miss. The terminology used will not effect your brain, although I have knowledge of computer programming and stuff this is not needed to enjoy the film, hell we don’t have to understand everything we see now do we!?

You can leave your brain at home, but I would not recommend it, the story will unravel easier if you keep it in your pocket at least. Recommended!