Rating of
1.5/4
Not Sure Why A Lot of People Liked This Mess
mitchellyoung - wrote on 10/20/12
Haywire is an interesting film - a sparse action thriller that plays with almost a documentary-feel to it. Sadly, that documentary-like quality doesn't necessarily translate to excitement or interest, as we are given little to no backstory for all the characters and, thus, are given not much to hold onto emotionally in the convoluted plot. The film is packed with A-list actors, but none of them are used to memorable effect and the heroes and villains play different shades of the same gray. The fight scenes are intense and clearly the film's highlight, though non-actor Gina Carano doesn't really dazzle in any of her dialogue scenes. Soderbergh tries to throw in a creative rack focus or framed shot here and there, but these visual touches don't have any motivation rooted in story and seem to be there just to distract from the mess of a storyline. Anytime your film has to end with a montage explaining all the loose ends that came before it, that's a bad sign.
