Swordfish (2001)
Director: Dominic Sena
Starring: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle
Primary genre: Action
Secondary genre: Thriller
Not every action-thriller looks like a product of a particular time period but “Swordfish” is not one of them. Having almost the same creative team (and vibe) behind the era-defining “The Matrix” (1999), Warner Bros immediately looked to capitalize on its popular, cyberpunk flick. Feeling more like a collision of executive decisions than a fully fleshed out film, “Swordfish” takes itself way too seriously despite its merits. It is its dated and try-hard approach to be sexy, mysterious, exciting and, edgy that undermines its intentions.
Bearing all key elements that defined the early 2000s action thrillers - minimalistic night clubs, dark suits, green and sepia colors, one-ear piercings, obligatory breast shots, hilarious GUIs, “modern” cell phones, laptops and cars, Skip Woods’ script attempts to craft a thriller around the dodgy shenanigans of hacking. Looking back now, it looks very silly. The irony is that Woods wishes for “Swordfish” to be considered on the same level of a Tarantino movie with its pop-culture references and zany dialogue. Travolta’s opening monologue which mocks Hollywood’s lack of realism, is a nifty idea but later on it follows the same old cliche tropes that it so audaciously mocked. Its explosive (and disturbing) opening which almost succeeded to outdo the Wachowski’s visual style moves the story into bleak territory only for it to backtrack a few days earlier disrupting momentum to introduce pointless scenes of sex appeal and weightless action.
“Not everything ends the way you think it should.”
Starting the film slowly with close-ups, then revealing a tense bank heist, would have been a better choice plunging us directly into a vortex of thrilling and engaging chaos. Director Dominic Sena - who rose to fame due to his work in Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation and the identically visually remake of “Gone in 60 Seconds” (2000), puts things together competently maximizing the budget to offer occasionally fun moments - a bus dangling from the sky in downtown LA was done for real, but the characters do not connect with the audience. Hugh Jackman,a rising star after this breakout role in “X-Men” (2000), plays it straight contrasting a misplaced Halle Berry and a smirking Travolta who is perhaps the best thing in it.
“Swordfish” bears high and soulless production values. It has sex but it is not sexy; it showcases technology but it is not savvy enough; it has action but it is not thrilling. So what is it? It is a fun, slightly above average ride that does not last long, one that you might infrequently visit years later to admire Halle Berry’s stunning physicality and listen to the interesting merge of Paul Oakenfold/Christopher Young techno score. For all its talk about morality, nihilism, patriotism and protection from the enemies within - which modern US audiences might find some resonance given the film’s pre-9/11 release, Woods does not dare to make our “villain” true to this beliefs wary of alienating the audience. It is a shame because, the questions raised here are interesting. It is just the answers that are ultimately disappointing.
2000s action thriller
+Berry is gorgeous
+Travolta has fun
+Great opening
+Production values
+Soundtrack
-Jackman is too serious
-Sex without being sexy
-Tries too hard to be edgy
-Disrupted pace