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Director Dominic Sena's last film was "Gone In 60 Seconds", which is an apt summary of the explosive demise suffered by a hapless hostage at the start of his latest movie. Writer Skip Woods then tracks back to find out how superspy Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) and computer whizz Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) came to be embroiled in the siege.
It turns out that Stanley has been retained by Gabriel and his multinational band of crooks to hack into the DEA's secret slush fund and relieve the US government of billions. Shear has big plans for the money - namely, to wreak devastation on the terrorists who threaten American interests abroad. But Stanley has a more personal motive - to win back custody of the daughter he lost after his last computer crime.
The insanely convoluted plot - which involves Halle Berry baring her breasts as Shear's seductive associate and Vinnie Jones as the least menacing heavy in living memory - has little function beyond providing a framework for some well-staged shoot-'em-ups and an elaborate finale that finds Travolta, Jackman, and a dozen or so hostages in a bus.
But while "The Matrix" producer Joel Silver brings a funky sensibility to proceedings that elevates the film above the "Lethal Weapon" and "Die Hard" series that made his name, "Swordfish" is simply too inane to be anything more than a formulaic Hollywood blockbuster. Indeed, the heavy-handed references to "Dog Day Afternoon" and "The Sugarland Express" only show up how far Sena's caper limps behind them.
Kim Newman discuss other hi-tech heist movies, while Andrew Collins discusses huge budget Hollywood blockbusters and read what have to say about the movie.
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