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SWORDFISH
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don
Cheadle, Vinnie Jones, Sam Shepard
Director: Dominic Sena
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: Warner Bros.
Features: See Review
Length: 99 Minutes
Release Date: October 30, 2001
“You
know what the problem with Hollywood is…they make s**t, unbelievable,
unremarkable s**t. Now I’m not some grungy wannabe filmmaker that’s
searching for existentialism through a haze of bong smoke or something. It’s
easy to pick apart bad acting, short-sided directing, and some purely
moronically stringed-together words that many of the studios term as pros. No,
I’m talking about the lack of realism…realism. Not a pervasive element in
today’s modern cinematic vision.”
Film
****
God bless John Travolta, one of my all time favorite
movie icons, who is proven to be the king of comebacks. You’ll recall his
triumphant comeback in 1994 with the monumental classic Pulp Fiction,
which prior to that was the actor rarely seen in anything worthy of his amazing
talent. This comeback led to a list of outstanding work including Get Shorty,
Phenomenon, Face/Off, and The General’s Daughter. Cut to 2000,
which saw the release of two consecutive critical and box office failures, the
wretched sci-fi debacle Battlefield Earth and the underrated, unfairly
panned comedy Lucky Numbers. Travolta was in desperate need of yet
another comeback feature, and he found it in 2001 with Swordfish, a truly
remarkable action-packed adrenaline rush that actually finds the time to mix in
a little originality. It’s not exactly a thought provoking piece, but with a
running time of just over 90 minutes, it throws in everything but the kitchen
sink in terms of addictive eye candy that is downright the best example of
perfect summer entertainment. Not since Speed or even any of the Die
Hard movies has a single motion picture given me a rush so incredible that I
was dying to experience the ride again not long after my first viewing.
The movie begins by offering perhaps one of the
single best opening moments in cinematic history. It opens up during the midst
of a bank heist being masterminded by the Travolta character, who has laced up
twenty-two hostages with vests of C4, along with stainless steel ball bearings.
The scene results in a special effects shot so incredible and amazing, you are
likely to press rewind after seeing it. The movie then cuts back to 4 days
earlier, with the mysterious and sexy Ginger (Halle Berry) offering a once in a
lifetime opportunity for ex-computer hacker Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman), who
wants nothing more than custody of his daughter, now that his ex-wife is
indulging in a life of pornography with her new husband. Ginger offers Stanley
and easy $100,000 just to fly over to a meeting with her boss, the wealthy and
powerful Gabriel Shear (Travolta), who leads a life that I’m sure anyone would
want to lead; I know I would. He then promises Stanley a $10,000,000 payday if
he’ll help him in breaking codes that will allow them to steal 9 billion in
frozen government funds over the net. Stanley agrees to it, only because it may
help him gain custody of his daughter.
Travolta is best known for being one of the more
charismatic actors in the movies, and he proves once again in Swordfish
that no other actor can portray villains that are both charming and menacing
like he can. Following his villainous portrayals in Broken Arrow and Face/Off,
Travolta ignites yet another memorably charming sinister villain in the role of
Gabriel Shear, who throughout the movie, turns out to be more than he appears in
terms of his motives and actions. You can’t help but give a chuckle hearing
him say such things as, “Did you know that I can buy nuclear warheads for $40
million each? Hell, I could buy half a dozen and even get a discount.” Hugh
Jackman, the Aussie Clint Eastwood, having just come off the success of X-Men,
makes a very convincing protagonist, who’s constantly on edge throughout the
entire movie, fearing going back to jail for hacking while stuck in a
predicament he really has no way out of.
The action scenes in Swordfish are of such
astonishing and adrenaline-pumping quality. That credit should go to none other
than the movie’s director, Dominic Sena, who also directed the eye gazing,
fast moving Gone in 60 Seconds. In addition to the standout effects
sequence that opens the picture, there is also knockout high speed pursuit with
Travolta blowing up pursuing cars with a monster-size machine gun, a foot chase
that leads to a free-fall pursuit alongside a near-steep cliff, and finishing
off the movie is a mind blowing chase scene where a bus containing the bank
hostages eludes the cops by being lifted in the air by a helicopter. This
five-minute sequence comes very close to making the entire chase in Speed
pale in comparison. It is that enticing and intense.
Swordfish is a breakthrough
masterpiece in the action genre, which is every so often reinvented by such
films as Face/Off, Speed, and the Die Hard movies. By offering a
sense of originality, poking fun at itself occasionally, giving us yet another
masterful performance from John Travolta, and delivering moments of razor sharp
dialogue, Swordfish begs to differ with the usual action fare, and it
pulls it off gracefully and incredibly.
A final word of caution; this movie does contain
themes of terrorism, and in the wake of the recent attacks on America, some
viewers might find this a little too much to stomach. I felt since I love this
movie as entertainment, I also have a responsibility to advise this.
I’ve seen many a great transfer from Warner, but I
am making it official right this instant, Swordfish is by far the
studio’s most outstanding transfer since their triumphant release of The
Matrix two years ago. First off, do not be fooled by the first few minutes
of the movie, in which the Warner logo and opening credits appear in a look
close to that of a video camera with questionable reception, this is clearly
intended. Also, do not be fooled by the opening scene, with Travolta talking to
the camera, where the background appears to be blurred out a little, it’s
simply a visual gimmick. The picture is of the most ultimate sharp form I could
ever hope for a single disc to be. Colors have never been more vibrant and alive
on any single disc. These past couple months have shown some astonishing
transfers, with such releases as Memento, Star Wars Episode 1, and Final
Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and Swordfish is yet another entry in
this amazing list of breakthrough video transfers, as well as the prestigious
DMC Awards list for best video transfer.
If it’s a Warner release, and it involves action,
you can bet on saying the word WOW at the end of the presentation, and I
remember saying that a few times during the movie. The 5.1 Dolby Digital job
results in Warner’s ultimately best sounding disc in a long time, ranking with
such other releases as The Matrix, Three Kings, and more recently, Driven.
When seeing this movie in the theater, I remember thinking to myself how amazing
the special effects explosion would play out on DVD, and all I can say is, pump
up the volume on your system when this scene kicks in, it is simply one for the
senses. The rest of the film sounds amazing as well, complete with a techno
score by Paul Oakenfeld (one of my personal favorites). This too, will
definitely score high on the DMC awards chart in the audio field.
Honestly, I’ve seen more loaded discs than this,
but the features on this release are some of the best assembled, and serve the
movie very well. Included is a terrific commentary from director from director
Dominic Sena, who’s a remarkably insightful narrator, offering all that he can
for every detail in the film. Also included are two documentaries, an HBO First
Look featurette on the making of Swordfish and one entitled “The
Effects in Focus”. Also featured are 2 alternate endings with optional
director commentary, a trailer, and DVD-Rom content.
Summary:
Swordfish is one of the best films
of 2001. Dynamic, eye-popping, tension-filled, and simply a fun roller coaster
ride of a movie going experience, this is one adrenaline rush that should not be
passed up.