Swordfish (2001)

Ah, those early century action movies, you have to love them. Over the top action, over the top characters, and over the top filming methods. Think of Bad Boys 2, the Matrix, Gone in 60 Seconds, XXX etc etc…
Swordfish is really no different, as it is made by the same people who did the Matrix and Gone in 60 seconds.
The acting list is very impressive though. John Travolta plays an arms dealer, Hugh Jackman plays a computer hacker, Halle Berry plays an undercover spy, and Don Cheadle plays the FBI agent. One big happy family as you can see.
The story itself reflects some of those early century fears. Jackman’s services as the best hacker in the world are summoned by Travolta, who wants to break into hidden government funds. The hacker is god here, he can break into anything, no barriers show themselves to him, and everyone is powerless in his wake. The early fears of computer control are nicely shown in a way, he who controls the computer, controls all. Anyways, after refusing a couple of times, Jackman accepts to do it (as it might let him see his daughter again, yawn….), and as expected, does a perfect job. But then things twist ever so slightly, and identities get revealed, and things are not what they seem. In the end, Travolta is a kind of good guy, yet he still has to break into the bank. Yes, it is confusing. The ultimate cliché of the secret government agency, so secret the government does not know about it is brought back to life here.
It may be a bit cliché, but in the end, the story does have a nice little surprise, so not all is what it seems. And that is always a bonus in a movie. Regarding the way the movie is made, it all tries to be a bit over-stylish. Villains are shown as hanging out in super exotic clubs, FBI agents have to fight authority, hackers are actually uber-cool; the list is endless. Again, this is a common trait in those early century action movies, so not really a unique criticism to Swordfish. And after a few years anyway, it does age pretty well in my opinion.
Coming to the action, it is great, in that early century type of way. Cars explode upon impact, massive guns can be built upon in a matter of seconds, and people tend to carry rocket launchers with them just for the fun of it. The very first explosion scene is extremely well done, and is almost one of the reasons to watch the movie in the first place (in a way like the gun fight scene in Heat makes up for 80% of the awesome-ness movie).
So all in all, this is one very good movie. It is not really good story and cinematically-wise, but if you love epic movies, this is definitely one to add to your collection. Yes it is cheese, but it is Beaufort, the good type of cheese.

3/5
Loved: Good action movie, does what it says on the tin
Hated: One problem in the story as to why Travolta has to steal the money in the first place. I don’t really get it.