Hi Bryan Here…..
I had so much fun with Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Haywire’. It’s packed with thrills, gun fights, drama, great chase sequences, and some of the best fight choreography I have seen in a long time. Much like most of Soderbergh’s films, ‘Haywire’ packs a stellar cast including retired MMA fighter and Dallas native Gina Carano (who is our main character). After watching ‘Haywire’, I quickly wanted more. There needs to be a sequel pronto and I say this with the upmost certainty; ‘Haywire’ is the new ‘Bourne’ and Carano can take on Matt Damon anytime.
So the film follows independent secret operative Mallory Kane who is hired out by her boss on multiple missions to execute operations that presidents and governments would rather be in the dark about. At the very beginning of the film we see Mallory sitting in a diner where Aaron (Channing Tatum) walks in and sits down with her. We quickly see these two have a past as Aaron tries to bring Mallory in to her boss. Mallory then asks Aaron if it’s in regards to one of the many previous missions they have been on. Here is where the first fight happens and it will put you on the edge of your seat. It starts with Aaron throwing hot coffee in Mallory’s face and breaking the mug over her head. It just gets better from there. She leaves him alive and with the help of a guy seated in the booth next to her, Scott (Michael Angarano), they flee the scene in his car and she tells him why this happened. We then backtrack to the mission where Aaron and Mallory meet which a hostage rescue job in Barcelona. Soon after that job, Mallory is dispatched on an ‘EASY’ mission in Dublin, where she quickly finds out she has been double crossed by her boss and she has to use all of her skills and talent to escape the people who are out to get her, clear her name and exact revenge on those who crossed her. Her bosses that have double crossed her go almost to the top of the food chain. The three bosses are played by Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor (a former jedi), and Antonio Banderas (a former mariachi). The only person Mallory can trust is her father who is played by Bill Paxton (or Pullman, depending on what day it is). Paxton is a former marine turned celebrity author who helps his daughter when she is in dire need.
The fight scenes are unreal. Soderbergh did a wonderful job with them. Instead of the fast quick cuts you are used to in the ‘Bourne’ films, he pretty much leaves the camera angled from a small distance to see the entire fight unfold without an escape for the audience. It was fantastic. Not only that, but he lowered the sound FX a lot. Nothing was over done. Every hit to the face, every smashing table or glass sounded ultra realistic and extremely painful. Also during the fight scenes, there was no music score or crescendos when someone would hit somebody. This made for a much more entertaining and realistic fight. It was very well done and Gina Carano is an insanely good fighter. She could kick my ass in two seconds flat with her hands tied behind her back. She is that good. I look forward to much more with her in it and even scoring some more dramatic roles with a bit more experience on the acting side. There is a small cameo with Michael Fassbender (a young Magneto) who plays a covert operative to perfection. Fassbender is in everything now.
The score reminded me a lot of the ‘Ocean’s 11’ movies. It’s fun and mysterious. I like that Soderbergh used that type of score in this film. It works very well. But like I said above, there is no score during the fight scenes, which to me, amped up those brutal hits and kicks to the face.
‘Haywire’ was truly a roaring good time in the theatre. I love how Soderbergh went for the indie style of epic action spy/revenge films. There were a couple of characters I wish they spent some more time developing, but I can only imagine they are working on a sequel. They may have not wanted to give away too much too soon. ‘Haywire’ will thrill you, chill you, and fulfill you. See it this weekend. You will be very happy you did.
-Bryan Kluger