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Swordfish

Swordfish

List Price: $14.96
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great action movie :)
Review: An action movie about Terrorim, hacking, John Travolta & Halle Berry. ONE AWSOME movie with really good directing. Just dont watch the Trailer first when you get the DVD. This is one action movie that has some really cool scenes and ideas, and you dont want to ruin any of them by watching the trailer first :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Action Movie
Review: Yes, there are many ways to start off by slaming this movie, but it's an action flick and IT DELIVERS what it's supposed to, many people overlook that. The story is pretty dum , stupid , and confusing, but it's nothing that the action and Halle's boobs can't pay off. It a great action movie, buy it, sit back, relax, and ENJOY THE MOVIE.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: GREAT opening, races downhill from there.
Review: The killer opener, filmed in downtown Ventura, CA just blocks from my house, absolutely takes your breath away. A stunning spin around the explosion of a hostage and the accompanying damage that goes through walls & around the entire scene leaves you heaving in your seat & gasping for air. However, by the end of the film it ends up feeling like a broken promise. You expect this truly stunning, rollicking action ride, but for all the pyrotechnics and Travolta/Jackman/Cheadle/Berry star power, it's a yawner. Throw in some really stupid pseudo-geeky computer stuff that any real hacker would scoff at, a little kid in danger (always a cheap, stupid, easy way out for a screenwriter), and a gratuitous shot at Berry's really-not-that-impressive rack and all you have is a 2-hour waste of time that leaves you wondering what else you could have rented.

For God's sake, don't waste your money.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great action flick with drawbacks
Review: This is one of those films that do some things really well and others terribly. The story is a slick action techno-thriller, although it is not particularly original. It is essentially "Dog Day Afternoon" meets "The Matrix". A mysterious cyber terrorist known as Gabriel (John Travolta) is recruiting renowned hackers to pilfer $9.5 billion from a secret fund of a long defunct FBI black ops group. Stanley (Hugh Jackman) is a brilliant hacker, recently busted and forbidden to touch a computer as part of his parole. He is lured into the plan because he is promised that he will be able to be reunited with his daughter, whom he is prevented from seeing by court order. The sticky part is that to access the network, they must commandeer a computer in the World Banc which requires taking over the bank and holding hostages while Stanley does his magic. The plot has a number of surprises as it twists along, keeping the viewer thinking and engaged, although it requires a healthy suspension of disbelief in many parts.

Joel Silver (of "Lethal Weapon", "Die Hard" and "Matrix" fame) produced this film, so it was a given that it would push the envelope on action and pyrotechnics. He hired Dominic Sena to direct, still juiced from his success in "Gone in Sixty Seconds". Clearly Sena brings great enthusiasm for the action genre, which was responsible for putting him on the map. From that standpoint, the film is a complete success. The action sequences are intense and the visual effects are outstanding, including explosions in panoramic slow motion and a flying bus. Sena also does a good job developing the characters, peeling away Gabriel's motivation slowly and keeping the viewer guessing as to whether he is good or evil. I was also impressed with Sena's visual interpretations, giving us interesting angles, rich blends of color and extremely innovative lighting.

On the unfortunate side, we have the shameless sexploitation of Halle Berry and other female characters for the sole purpose of pumping up the box office with the 18-45 male demographic. We are insulted with such unrealistic scenes as Stanley trying to break into the DOD computers in 60 seconds while being fellated and having a gun to his head. Berry is forced to do a completely gratuitous frontal topless scene (twice), and numerous scenes in various states of undress to land a role where most of her best lines involved references to the male organ. I have no problem with explicit sex if it bears some relationship to the story, but this was unabashed objectification of women, having no reason for being there other than titillation.

Another thing I found particularly ironic was Travolta's opening dialogue discussing the lack of realism in Hollywood films within a film that in many ways typifies the very aspects of filmmaking he is reviling. I'm not sure whether Sena and Silver were poking a little fun at themselves here or just didn't realize that this film really didn't differentiate itself from the criticism.

From an acting perspective, John Travolta finally re-enters his own body after two consecutive abominations ("Battlefield Earth", "Lucky Numbers") where he seemed to be inhabited by some nefarious being with no acting ability. Travolta returns to his brilliant bad guy form reminiscent of "Face Off" and "Broken Arrow", only here he is even bolder, more arrogant and utterly remorseless. Hugh Jackman turns in his best performance to date as the cyber jock. Jackman exudes maleness without sacrificing the softer side as seen in the touching scenes with his onscreen daughter Holly (eleven year old Camryn Grimes). Jackman also gives a virtuoso performance trying to crack the government system in a scene where he is the equivalent of Jerry Lee Lewis on a computer keyboard.

Don Cheadle turns in another solid performance as the FBI assistant director. Cheadle always impresses me with his dramatic skills. Hopefully he will land some meatier roles. Finally, there's Halle Berry. Berry is a skilled and beautiful actress who has a lot more talent to offer than was tapped by this film. Here she only had to be sexy and talk trash, the first being automatic and the second requiring no special skill. It is a pity that she is relegated to parts such as this and her role in "X-Men" to get work after turning in such a brilliant dramatic performance in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge".

This film features some promising direction by Sena, excellent performances by Travolta and Jackman and some top flight action sequences, but suffers from a derivative and overly fantastic story and a profusion of sexual non sequiturs. However, even with its drawbacks I rated it a 7/10. Action junkies will definitely get their money's worth.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: yummy tastes like swordfish
Review: this movie was cool like when the the explosion went all slow mo and stuff...um...yeah anyway the characters were cool and the story line was awsome and better yet neither the bad guy or good guy lost, the special effects were really good and explosions were well done, john travolta is just awsome in this and so is whats his ummmmmm???? face, anywho this is a cool movie andyou should buy it or at the bare minimum rent it and then buy it!!!!!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Um....NO!
Review: This movie was AWESOME....LY TERRIBLE!!! Great opening, mild ending, overall 10-15 minutes of good footage. The rest is ... Some megalomaniacs who love Rambo and other ... fast movies might enjoy this one. Anyone with half a brain will be bored out of your mind for the interlude between the beginning and the ending. Other than a rather random 'boobing' the movie is quite dull; I'd recommend renting Memento, Usual Suspects, Pulp Fiction, Hannibal, even Happy Gilmore, don't touch this one with a 50 foot clown pole.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awsome! One of the best movies of the year!
Review: This movie was really good, there were a few flaws but i still gave it 5, it had really good special effects and the plot was really good, the only thing i didnt like was that it started out really exciting and kind of went down from there, but the whole movie was still really good.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing
Review: for all of you who bash this masterpiece I've got a little something to say, those of you who says its the same thing over again, I got something for you too. This movie, sure it does follow the mode, but it goes up and beyond it with its amazing effects and disguised storyline. plus hale berry.....I mean come on!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Watch the first 15 minutes, then call it a day.
Review: Written in a non-linear fashon, the movie picks up about 3/4th the way through, showing the "big explosion" right off the top. The effects was certainly the best of a otherwise hum drum year, but it all goes down hill from there.
Nothing original here, leaving no cliche plot device untouched. Seriously, this is two hours of my life I'll never get back.
If you want to watch some edgy film style, watch memento. If you want to watch a Hacker movie, see the Matrix again. If you want to watch somehting that just shuts your brain off, pick up anything else, but do yourself a favor on this one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Call me superfiscial
Review: I liked it and would watch it again. I love the 360 degree cinematography.


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