Rating of
2.5/4
"Swordfish" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 05/11/12
Hugh Jackman plays a retired hacker hired by sinister black ops agent John Travolta to help him rob a bank. I couldn't help feeling that there were the bones of a really good film lurking in here. Travolta is charismatic as the Machiavellian villain, and Jackman and Don Cheadle likeable heroes, but it is Halle Berry who personifies this film. Instead of exploring her character, the director chose instead to dress her up all purdy-like, and pay her a bag of cash to get her goodies out. And so it is with the film as a whole; when Travolta is about to speak about "misdirection", the whole crux of the plot, he is interrupted by a rather pointless car case/shoot out to a thumping techno bass line. If this were handled by a director who was more interested in the script than glossy and superficial flash for the lowest common denominator, it could've been excellent. But as it stands, it's an entertaining if humourless Hollywood McThriller that never quite lives up to it's great opening scene.
