# Swordfish (2001)

### reviewed by
Homer Yen

    "Swordfish" -- Action May Reel You In, But Story
    Flounders
    by Homer Yen
    (c) 2001

"Swordfish," a sometimes-explosive high-tech thriller, will hook you – but only for its first 15 minutes. Its opening is a captivating hostage sequence in which police and SWAT teams tragically underestimate the fortitude of the cunning Gabriel (John Travolta). He is a villain who will not hesitate to sacrifice innocent lives or even his own to pull off an improbable heist. The events that unfold during these taut opening minutes are mesmerizing with effects that easily outdo key scenes from "The Matrix" in presentation and intensity.

After that, however, its creativity and pace start to sputter. It then begins to regress into a generic, albeit flashy, shoot-em-up action flick. Bullets fly and cars explode while the body count rises. But its biggest casualty, unfortunately, is the story, which amounts to a tepid heist flick wrapped in some cheeky banter and black humor.

At least John Travolta looks quite comfortable as the megalomaniacal villain. He swaggers with bravado, sports a tough-guy haircut and chin hair, and projects an aura of hipness and fear. From his exotic sports cars to his mountaintop villa to his gaggle of beautiful girls, he lives a life that other men can only dream about. His lifestyle, however, does not come about from a lack of ambition or from a lack of ruthlessness.

For his next big job, he plans to steal $9 billion from a federal drug fund, but will need to recruit a crack computer hacker. With the help of his prurient assistant, Ginger (Halle Berry), Gabriel tries to enlist Stan (Hugh Jackman), an ex-con whose previous successful assault on an FBI database sent him to jail and also caused him to lose custody of his daughter. Stan has no desire to return to prison and only wishes to be rejoined with his daughter. But for a fee of $10 million, which will more than pay for the lawyers needed to win custody, how can our hacker refuse?

Berry also does good things as the sexy moll who may be more than she seems under those skin-tight dresses. She uses her siren-like charms to keep Stan focused on his task and exudes a confidence that makes her topless scene just an extension of her self-assurance rather than something gratuitous.

Jackman, however, is absolutely listless. His scenes with his daughter don't strike up any poignant emotions, and his brooding demeanor that gained him much notice in "X-Men" has been replaced with silly, self-congratulatory gyrations as he moves closer to developing a program to break through the firewall security codes. Sadly, his on-screen time consists mostly of incredibly fast typing and keyboard clattering.

Another annoying issue is that as a tech-driven film, computer jargon and graphics are heavily used. There's a lot of focus on Stan's computer screens as words like 'port scan' and 'crypto algorithm' flash about. It may look cool, but it doesn't really tell a story.

Completely underutilized, however, is Don Cheadle who plays the federal agent trying to track Gabriel down. His look of concern may be that of a detective who knows that Gabriel is capable of mass destruction. Or, he may just be worried that he'll be playing the role of effete cops for the rest of his career.

"Swordfish" is ultimately just a glossy but somewhat hollow production. Aside from its whiz-bang beginning, it only manages to be an undistinguished, bullet-ridden thriller.

    Grade: C+
    S:        2 out of 3
    L:        2 out of 3
    V:        3 out of 3

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