By Tim Angerame
Entertainment Editor
If I were to attribute Speed, Die Hard, or any other typical action movie to a person, it would most likely be FPS Doug from Pure Pwnage, or maybe even Brucie from Grand Theft Auto 4. It would just be a crazy, immature, over-the-top, almost unbelievable person, who is often prone to extreme violence.
That’s because the typical action movie contains nonstop violent action in impossible situations (at around 5:15 in this clip from 1985’s Commando, Arnold Schwarzenegger faces hundreds of gunmen out in the open without getting hit), and overly-gruesome to the point of comical executions (SPOILER ALERT: in this clip from Speed, Keanu Reeves manages to freaking decapitate Dennis Hopper’s head, on top of a moving subway train, no less.)
However, if I were to attribute the newest action movie Haywire to one person, it would probably the “hipster-cop” of NYC’s “Occupy” lore. He obviously sticks out from all the other cops. He keeps to himself and is a tad unassuming, but you can tell he still gets in a few dicey situations as a cop (especially with the protests in Zucotti Park).
Haywire is presented in a way that is very unique from other action movies. It trades in the heavy metal music for a soothing but still suspenseful soundtrack reminiscent of 60’s spy thrillers. Most of the fight scenes are shown as they are with no added effects, which keeps it serious, and helps the film to avoid being ridiculously over the top. It is more story driven than the average action flick, but still shows suspense with a few good fight scenes and chase sequences, such as in the opening scene where the protagonist fights a potential assassin and escapes via a stolen car.
The movie is told in media res by freelance covert operative and former marine, Mallory Kane, (Mixed Martial Arts athlete Gina Carano, who looks like a brunette Britney Spears) to a civilian whose Mitsubishi she steals to escape a group of men who want her dead.
Kane’s story is that after rescuing a Chinese journalist held hostage in Barcelona, she had to do a reconnaissance mission in Dublin while pretending to date another agent named Paul (Michael Fassbender).
Kane’s story is that after rescuing a Chinese journalist held hostage in Barcelona, she had to do a reconnaissance mission in Dublin while pretending to date another agent named Paul (Michael Fassbender).
Paul betrays Kane by revealing that he has killed the hostage from Barcelona and is planning on planting the blame on her. With the help of Kane’s employer Coblenz (veteran actor Michael Douglas), she returns to the States only to find more trouble from traitors against her and her Walter White lookalike father (Bill Paxton)
I found myself enjoying Haywire because of the uncommon, intriguing cinematography it employed. For an action movie, its presented with an almost indie-like feel. For example, in the Barcelona action sequence, there is nonstop action going on. Kane uses what looks like Billy Mays’ Mighty Putty to destroy a bolted door, the hostage is rescued, and the team of agents encounters a shootout. Rather than completely over blow the scene with ridiculous violence and unrealistic special effects, the movie becomes black and white, and the sound effects go silent, save for the thunderous vibrations that accompany gun shots. The agents don’t do anything more than they have to and don’t resort to gruesome violence, as it should be with a realistic secret mission.
The movie even takes a subtle approach to comedy. In one scene, Kane asks Coblenz how to repay the aforementioned citizen from the beginning of the film for letting her commandeer his car to escape law enforcement and her enemies. Coblenz replies “We’ll fix the dings in his car!… Ok fine, we’ll buy him a new car.”
Perhaps the only thing I didn’t like about this movie was how it ended. It just stopped, like the movie didn’t know how to end. I also felt that the story was good, but could have been told better. It felt that there was too much telling and not enough showing. The only part of the movie where I felt that the cinematography fell short, was during a fight scene at the beach where the camera angles jumped too frequently. It felt very distracting.
It is safe to say that I found myself enjoying this movie so much because I found it to be so different. I found it comforting to know that in an industry dominated by unnecessary sequels and unwanted reboots, there are still some filmmakers who try to be original and/or try to put on a different perspective that goes against tradition.
