Skip to main content

Haywire

Starring:  Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, and Michael Douglas
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay by: Lem Dobbs

    It seems like if Steven Soderberg forgot to cast anybody in Contagion from a few months back, they got their chances to shine now in Haywire.
    Mallory Kane (Gina Carano), a black ops soldier, wants payback after being betrayed by the people who trained and employ her.  In order to trap her, a mission must go wrong and a trap needs to be set up for her to fall into.  The mission goes wrong and the trap is set up, but she escapes, sending everyone on a manhunt for her.  Mixed in with about a million tiny details, this is one thrilling story.
    While it may be exciting and entertaining, not everything is explained very well.  For example, why do they want to trap Mallory in the first place?  What got her into this whole mess?  This is not explained.  There are quite a few plot holes such as this one.  It's also hard to figure out who's who in the beginning, especially since about half of the story is told in flashback.
     Some of Soderbergh's other works such as Contagion, do not necessarily have one main character or focus on one character in particular.  That's not the case with Haywire at all.  It's something I was expecting to see, but didn't happen.  Mallory is clearly the main character of this film, with some emphasis on a few other characters.
      Gina Carano is a Mixed Martial Arts fighter, and fits the role perfectly for Mallory Kane.  There aren't a whole lot of fight scenes.  However, these fight scenes are intense.  There's lots happening in each fight sequence which is usually only a few seconds.  Honestly, it's kind of fun to see a woman beating the crap out of a bunch of tough guys.
      The trailers might suggest this to be a rather violent and bloody film.  It really isn't that blood and not terribly violent at all.  This makes me wonder then, why does it have an R rating?  It would be better rated as PG-13.  This is definitely an entertaining movie, and you'll probably need to see it two or three times to really understand the story.  There's just a whole lot of stuff happening in each scene and the film moves at a very rapid pace.  However, it's not worth paying to see it two or three times.  If you're going to see it in theaters, my advice is to just pay for it once, and wait until it comes out on DVD.
      I'm making Haywire go haywire with a C+.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Man

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, and Corey Stoll Directed by: Damien Chazelle Screenplay by: Josh Singer Based on the book by James R. Hansen      Yes, this is the same director who did La La Land from a few years ago.  But this is a true story this time, and not necessarily a feel good one.      Many of us know about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.  First Man is not simply the story of the moon landing, but the story about Armstrong and what led him to be the first man in history to walk on the moon.  It's a story about making huge sacrifices for himself, and his family, in order to accomplish such a goal, as well as overcoming a great deal of grief.       The film focuses almost entirely on Neil (Ryan Gosling).  The film opens up on him as one of the premiere pilots in the military, piloting the X-15; a plane that was capable of flying over 100,000 feet altitude.  He is portrayed as
Post a Comment
Read more

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters look absolutely ridiculous and are way too flashy, but the make-up is v
2 comments
Read more

Rosewater

Starring:  Gael García Bernal, Kim Bodina, and Dimitri Leonidas Directed by: Jon Stewart Screenplay by: Jon Stewart Based on the book " Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival" by Maziar Bahari      Remember last summer when Jon Stewart took three months off from hosting The Daily Show  leaving it to John Oliver?  This film is the reason.      Maziar Bahari is a journalist for Newsweek who is on assignment in Tehran, Iran for the 2009 election.  The election is between the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.  When Bahari first arrives in Iran, the polls show that it is likely Mousavi will win as he is gaining a rather large lead against Ahmadinejad.  Ahmadinejad is backed by the Supreme Leader and there are fears that the election will be rigged in favor of Ahmedinejad.  Well, that's exactly what happens.  There are protests in the streets, and Bahari's story has changed.  He first was coveri
Post a Comment
Read more