" You know what the problem with Hollywood is? They make shit. "

Swordfish

One of the worlds best hackers, Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is approached to join an operation with the aim to steal billions in US dirty money. The operation is led by Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) who wants the money to finance acts of vengeance against international terrorism. Shear lures Jobson into the operation by offering him 10 million dollars, Jobson has lost custody of his daughter so he accepts the offer with the belief that he can hire an exceptional lawyer to get his daughter back.

Swordfish deals with a very abstract concept and has the potential to be very confusing. The film has been handled with poor direction and clumsy screen writing, leaving the viewer disoriented and unengaged. Abstract concepts can be cleverly explored in film where the viewer is able to feel involved and interested in the story, one only has to look at recent films such as Inception or Source Code to see this achieved effectively. Swordfish doesn't portray the hackers or their plan as clever. Director Dominic Sena has tried to condense too much into the two hours and as a result the flow of the film is confusing. The viewer is left with no time to even begin to relate to the characters or become involved in the plot.

Travolta is a very inconsistent actor as has been linked to many poor movies. He can produce an solid performance when utilised appropriately such as Pulp Fiction. In Swordfish he plays an anti-terrorist terrorist (work that one out) and provides such as exaggerated performance that he is painful to watch. Jackman makes the most of what he is given however I feel he was never right for the part. Another member of the operation is Ginger Knowles (Halle Berry) who seems to have a gender of her own as she seduces both Jobson and Shear. Berry is a fine actress and similarly to Jackman makes the most with what little she is given. Don Cheadle in my opinion is the finest actor in the movie, he delivers a solid performance as Agent J.T. Robert but is shamefully underused. And then there's Vinnie Jones whose performance is almost comical (for the wrong reasons) as he utters maybe 2 lines in the whole movie.

The movie is simply over the top. Every actor has the same stern expression (none better than Vinnie Jones), with explosions added in every 12 seconds just for the sake of spending money. It would have been a much better movie on a 1 million dollar budget focusing on the intruige and skill behind hacking. The ending was luckily quite clever, but for a movie about the best computer hackers in the world I expected a lot more 'cleverness'. Credit does have to be given for the most ingenious way to get out of a car chase, which was the highlight for me. 

Unfortunately I was left bored and very disappointed after watching Swordfish. The movie didn’t engage me and when it comes down to viewing a film whether it be drama, comedy or action, the film has to be engaging for it to warrant some form of praise or success from its audience.