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Is it worth $10? No
Gina Carano is a knockout. She’s very easy on the eyes, and more than holds her own in the acting department in “Haywire,” her first major feature film role. She’s also a former MMA fighter, which allows her to bring serious skills to fight scenes with Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor and more.
If only she had help. For reasons both literal and figurative, much of “Haywire” feels like Carano is on her own doing everything she can to make things work, but obstacles beyond her control keep inhibiting her progress. In this case that obstacle is director Steven Soderbergh, who takes a whimsical approach to an otherwise serious, straightforward action movie. Just listen to the campy, retro-‘70s musical score and tell me you’re able to really engage in the suspense. Will not happen.
Carano plays 
Mallory, a special ops assassin whose handler/ex-lover Kenneth (McGregor) sends her to meet up with Paul (Fassbender) on a mission in Dublin. But when Paul tries to kill her she knows she’s been betrayed, leading her on a quest to discover who wronged her and why.
The action and fight scenes are exhilarating, and we root for Mallory every step of the way. Carano has no trouble making ass-kicking sexy as hell, and best of all we believe her dramatic moments as well. Sure she’s a tough girl, but she has potential as an actor.
The problem is the moments in between the fights. Lem Dobbs’ script plays out like a series of sketches rather than a cohesive story, and the directing lacks conviction. In fact, it seems as if Soderbergh isn’t trying any more. His movies feel glib, like the annoying afterthought of a man who’s lost his passion and is doing something just to do it. “Haywire” certainly isn’t terrible, but it is lacking the depth and perceivable effort that used to be omnipresent in his films (“Traffic,” “Out of Sight”) but hasn’t been noticeable in years. He keeps saying he’s going to retire soon, and at this rate soon may as well mean now.
Did you know?
Carano also played Crush on the “American Gladiator” TV series in 2008.
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Twilliams
said:
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... I loved it....it is out there on a few levels which I appreciate from a writer/screenplay. |
drknight05
said:
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... I thought it was ok for the time before the summer. Chuckled when one of the cops called her Wonder Woman |
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