Karlos
01-19-2012, 11:30 AM
HAYWIRE opened in the UK yesterday and I managed to catch a screening last night.
I had read a few reviews online and they were pretty much all raves, so hopes were high for me.
The idea of Soderberg making a full-on action film is intriguing, but coupled with the hook of casting ex-MMA champ Gina Carano, alongside an eclectic, all-star cast, made this a must-see.
I can see what Soderberg was trying to do – make a film as lean as possible, with almost zero story and characterisation, and ramp up the style. The plot, such as it is, is so well-worn you can almost see the marks.
I think that’s the point – Soderberg wanted to make a “classic” spy story – but it doesn’t make it compelling.
To be honest, those critics who called it a “non-stop thrill ride” or words to that effect – well, I can only assume they don’t watch many action movies.
Even at 90 minutes the film has an odd pace at times. Some scenes seem to go on much longer than needed. Apart from the action scenes, which are all too brief.
The all-star cast mostly looked bored. Michael Douglas and Bill Paxton especially get almost nothing to do.
Carano is great – I know her a little from her bit parts in Gamer and Blood & Bone, but I must admit to not knowing anything about her MMA career. Still, she can act and she’s incredible in the fights – but there-in lies another problem.
The film doesn’t give her anyone interesting to fight. Apart from the opening scrap with Channing Tatum and a later skirmish with 2 armed cops, that’s pretty much it.
And for the most part they’re not fights, they’re beatdowns. Maybe my lack of MMA knowledge lets me down here, I don’t know. It’s not kung fu, it’s not especially fluid, it’s brutal and quick. There’s a few flourishes here and there but not many.
Much has been made of the clarity and editing of the fights and for the most part they are, for a Western film, very well shot. You can see everything. Should come as standard for hand-to-hand combat scenes, but as we all know, it ain’t. That said, bewilderingly, there are at least 2 fights late in the film where it swings completely the other way, reducing the action to mostly super-fast cuts between the combatant’s heads. Very strange.
I’m sure some of you will get more out of this than me. But if you’re looking for a “non-stop thrill ride”, you may be out of luck.
I had read a few reviews online and they were pretty much all raves, so hopes were high for me.
The idea of Soderberg making a full-on action film is intriguing, but coupled with the hook of casting ex-MMA champ Gina Carano, alongside an eclectic, all-star cast, made this a must-see.
I can see what Soderberg was trying to do – make a film as lean as possible, with almost zero story and characterisation, and ramp up the style. The plot, such as it is, is so well-worn you can almost see the marks.
I think that’s the point – Soderberg wanted to make a “classic” spy story – but it doesn’t make it compelling.
To be honest, those critics who called it a “non-stop thrill ride” or words to that effect – well, I can only assume they don’t watch many action movies.
Even at 90 minutes the film has an odd pace at times. Some scenes seem to go on much longer than needed. Apart from the action scenes, which are all too brief.
The all-star cast mostly looked bored. Michael Douglas and Bill Paxton especially get almost nothing to do.
Carano is great – I know her a little from her bit parts in Gamer and Blood & Bone, but I must admit to not knowing anything about her MMA career. Still, she can act and she’s incredible in the fights – but there-in lies another problem.
The film doesn’t give her anyone interesting to fight. Apart from the opening scrap with Channing Tatum and a later skirmish with 2 armed cops, that’s pretty much it.
And for the most part they’re not fights, they’re beatdowns. Maybe my lack of MMA knowledge lets me down here, I don’t know. It’s not kung fu, it’s not especially fluid, it’s brutal and quick. There’s a few flourishes here and there but not many.
Much has been made of the clarity and editing of the fights and for the most part they are, for a Western film, very well shot. You can see everything. Should come as standard for hand-to-hand combat scenes, but as we all know, it ain’t. That said, bewilderingly, there are at least 2 fights late in the film where it swings completely the other way, reducing the action to mostly super-fast cuts between the combatant’s heads. Very strange.
I’m sure some of you will get more out of this than me. But if you’re looking for a “non-stop thrill ride”, you may be out of luck.