Review of Haywire (2011) by Cameron J — 24 Aug 2012

Not quite what I was expecting from a biopic on that one Canadian hard rock band that no has heard of (Yeah, that "one"), but hey, I guess I'll run with it. Can anyone else believe that the only major band named Haywire that I could come up with is some Canadian rock band that no one knows now and about five Canadians knew in the '80s, let alone that this is the only major film named "Haywire" that I could come up with? I don't know, looking at this film's title, I always had that gut feeling that it had to have been done to death, though I suppose not, which really isn't all that surprising, seeing as how Steven Soderbergh is always open to experimenting, as we can also see with leading lady Gina Carano here, because about the only thing she did before this film was mixed martial arts, and that's about it. She's got a reasonably pretty face, is a good actress and can pummel you within an inch of you're life; now that's what I call a triple threat, or at least the definitive modern woman, because it does seem like ladies nowadays are aiming to be more like one of the guys, yet still look good while doing it, and, well, that's just dandy with me, or at least until the good-looking ladies in question start working out a little bit too much and start to actually turn into one of the guys (Note that I deemed the decidedly too fit Carano's face only "reasonably" pretty earlier, and only deemed her face that). Hm, now that I think about it, when you lay it out there, he's got a pro-girl-power action film and male stripper film in 2012, is doing a Liberace biopic, has a lot of stars in his star-studded casts be mostly very good-looking men and is set to retire to painting, so our we perfectly sure that Steve Soderbergh's not at least a little bit gay? Wow, I suppose he really is open to experimenting, if you know what I'm saying. Eh, whatever, he still makes some cool films, with this one definately being no exception, yet at the same time, Soderbergh isn't particularly well-known to keep terribly consistent with thrills, so don't exactly go in expecting this film to be quite as exciting as its apparently original title makes it sound.

Now, with all of these silly modern filmmakers who want crazy stuff like realism, meditativeness and intelligence, this type of spy thriller has taken on the tendency to turn out many titles that aren't entirely faithful to the "thriller" part in their genre title, and while this film still isn't "Che", this is still Steven Soderbergh we're talking about, so sure enough, the film often limps out when there's no brawling, collapsing into considerably slow, if not rather dull when the atmosphere finds itself relying too much on the dialogue, with one of the handful of aspects that slow the film down just as considerably being the times where they take that very omission of music and overemphasis on dialogue that most often slows this film down and pull a vice versa - where music is at the forefront and dialogue falls out - that really doesn't make things any better. Something I dig in the "Ocean's Heists" trilogy and a couple of other Soderbergh films is a little storytelling trademark of Soderbergh's that involves us cutting out dialogue, putting on some groovy David Holmes tunes and having a montage-like observation of a systematic chain of events, such as, in this film, Gina Carano's Mallory Kane character either conducting espionage techniques while trying to either track down targets during her time with the agency or track down the agency itself when it targets her, or just simply hauling around, trying to make sure no one is gonna kill her. It's a clever storytelling technique that typically works in Soderbergh films, yet often falls flat with this one, as these montage-like moments run too long and too loosely, to the point of losing their meaning and your attention, which isn't to say that this problem arises all that often, as these montage-like moments are in short supply, though when they do rise and fall flat, they throw off what limited momentum this film has a bit, and if Soderbergh is unable to completely pull off a trademark that he's been doing well for a while, then you better believe that certain new neat storytelling methods fault. It's difficult to fully describe how the film is structured, as it pulls many unique moves and throws focus all over the place and in a hurry, yet not messily, keeping everything surprisingly well-controlled and organized, with little looseness and much tightness in the story, though perhaps too tightness, to the point of keeping the story moving along too concisely, for although the film has its many points where it's too slow, it's not but a bit past 90 minutes in length, and with all of its moving along with too much control, you're left with neither the time nor comfortable meditativeness to ease into the story as much as you probably should. There's not too much emotional distance, yet with all of its slow storytelling and perhaps too tight story structure, the film doesn't quite have as firm of a grip as it should on your investment, and it certainly doesn't help that this is a story that has effectively been done to death. I talk about how much Soderbergh loves to try out new things, yet the irony of it all is that this film's story is just way too familiar, and even the film itself gets to be a bit too Steven Soderbergh, complete with the limp atmosphere and perhaps too stylish structure that has rendered quite a few more worthy Soderberg films before it underwhelming. This film, however, transcends underwhelmingness with what it does get right, because for every plummet into convention, there is a unique twist in both the story and Soderbergh's direction that wins you over, which isn't to say that the things that Soderbergh always gets right don't help throughout the film.

I tell you what, as Peter Andrews, Steven Soderbergh is among today's great cinematographers, and continues to dazzle with this film, playing with lighting in a radiantly lush, yet still often darkly gritty fashion that catches your eye, while clever plays with and switches of color palettes further compliment the film's attractiveness and supplement the mood of the atmosphere in a smooth fashion that intensifies the film's slick feel. Of course, for that slickness to go intensified, it first has to exist in the first place, on paper and subsequently in storytelling execution, and while this film's storytelling methods are often problematic and faithful to the smoothness of the story structure to a fault, the story structure and storytelling are smooth nevertheless, being uniquely and neatly concieved with a slick kind of hurrying, combined with tightness, that may hurt your investment in the film - as it keeps the film moving a bit too slickly -, yet, to an extent, also amplifies your investment, as it keeps the story on its toes and intriguing and reflects the urgency of the situation in a way that is stylish and, well, perhaps about as advantageous as detrimental, yet often advantageous nonetheless. There's a consistent aura of consequence throughout the film, and it goes firmly established in the story structure, as well as supplemented by the film's nifty realism and, of course, some awesome action sequences, for although there are no especially extreme stunts, explosions or, believe it or not, even a whole lot of gunfire, this film pulls that kind of realistically slick, elaborate and brutally systematic type of action that a lot of hand-to-hand action films of this nature have been doing lately, and really should, as it's just so darn cool. Some brawls come and go, and some take their sweet, sweet time, yet you never walk away from a fight feeling dissatisfied or as though the fight outstayed its welcome, as the action is so dynamic in its structure and choreography, being slick and systematic, with a careful attention to detail that makes it not only cool as all get-out, but delightfully fascinating in its being so cleverly and realistically stylish, yet not at the expense of realistic brutality. These brawls between professionally trained killers are as smooth as you would expect them to be, yet these are still formidable people trying to murder each other, which is an event that is rarely as consistently smooth as a lot of films of this type make them out to be, no matter how professional the people are with their killing, and while most of the action does keep consistently systematic, not everything goes entirely smoothly, because if this action is to be realistic, it has to be both realistically slick and brutally honest, and does just that by throwing some disorganization into the organization to emphasize the harshness and consequence of these battles, which not only makes the action all the more intensely cool, but have some dramatic weight. With all of its style and substance faults, the film remains substance-driven, and generally manages to keep that substance going, not just through Lem Dobbs' good writing and top-notch realist action, but through its colorful star-studded supporting cast of talents - from the always charming Ewan McGregor to thankfully always working Michael Fassbender - and leading lady Gina Carano, whose charismatic and strong presence as a force to be reckoned with makes a breakout performance that is both compelling and promising. The film isn't so much messy as it is smooth to the point of slipping all over the place, something that it really can't do if it's going to be a brief and conventional as it is, yet what leaves this film to escape underwhelming is that very problematic slickness, which is still generally well-used and gives this film the life, style and substance needed to sustain your investment and leave you to walk away more satisfied than not.

Overall, the film hits its slow spots, as you would expect a Steven Soderbergh film to do, yet generally moves, or is at least structured to move too quickly for its own good, boasting focus that may not be messy, yet holds your investment back a bit by rushing, not necessarily the progression, but exposition of this story, further hurt by the simply fact that it is just conventional, thus leaving this film to run the risk of falling flat, only to ultimately pull through with the help of what story structure and storytelling aspects there are that are unique and effectively smooth, as well as complimented by Steven Soderbergh's, or rather, Peter Andrews' beautiful cinematography, top-notch action sequences and many a colorful performance, thus leaving "Haywire" to charge on as a perhaps too slick, yet generally rewardingly smooth action thriller.

3/5 - Good.