Film Review - Haywire

Haywire will throw you to the ground and leave you to die! Well, that’s what the female protagonist will do to you if you cross her. Her name is Mallory Kane and she is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor. Doesn’t that sound exciting? Well, let me tell you that it made quite the impression on me. Mallory Kane has been double-crossed and she is out to seek the truth and kill whoever gave the order. Mallory works with some heavy hitters who are just as dangerous as her, so she must use her training to fight for her life and survive the heavy threats that are on her tail. The film is only an hour and a half long, so I do not wish to reveal too much of the plot because it is very cleverly written and leaves you wanting more.

The great Steven Soderbergh delivers once again with this well directed smart espionage film. He reinvents the crime-espionage film and brings it into the 21st century. He liked the idea of added drama and conflict behind a female lead and how she functioned in a male dominated world. Who did Soderbergh pick for his lovely leading lady? He chose the incredibly dangerous Gina Carano. Gina is a very impressive MMA fighter and champion. She knocked out her first ever opponent in 39 seconds and is considered to be the face of Women’s Mixed Martial Arts. Gina underwent special ops training and was pushed to her physical peak for this film. Aaron Cohen, who, amongst other incredible achievements, spent three years in Isreal's special ops undercover unity, trained Gina and the other cast members. What I admire about Gina’s performance is that she did all of her own stunts and no wires were used. She is the one doing everything. She is leaping from roof to roof, she is taking down men who are larger than her and she is doing it successfully.

The other actors in this film helped this newbie find her self-confidence on set. They knew she could bring it during the fights and could hold her own physically but the acting part apparently made her nervous. Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton and Ewan McGregor are all cast in this smart thriller and each of their roles is well done and well developed. They act as Mallory’s list of dirty laundry that she desperately needs to air out.

The fight scenes are almost endless and they are truly a masterpiece. The actors rehearsed for weeks and weeks to get everything perfect. The locations were re-made into rubber sets so that the actors could viciously throw each other around without actually harming each other. Oh Hollywood, sometimes you can make me a very happy woman, and with this film you hit the target with grace.

I highly recommend seeing this film because of all the hard work that went into it, the incredible cinematography and the heart pounding action. Haywire is smart, well organized, entertaining and a different kind of espionage that should be further developed. For example the fight scenes had no music during them so that the audience could really get the sense of reality, all the grunts and groans are real and the choreography was unbelievable. Plus, who doesn’t love a fucking bad ass beautiful woman who kicks the shit out of the bad guys? Everything Gina Carano did was right, despite being a first time actress; she is truly blessed being able to work with Soderbergh for her first film. Together they created an interesting and fearless female protagonist that you will cheer for while the ending credits roll.

4.5 out 5 stars

-Andrea Boulet