Review of Haywire (2011) by Alex B — 16 Jul 2012

What happens when you take six big name actors, an Oscar winning director, an extremely accomplished screenwriter and a gorgeous mixed martial arts fighter turned actress? 93 minutes of a whole lot of awesomeness! "Haywire," starring Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and directed by Steven Soderbergh, is an adrenalin pumping action thriller that focuses as much on its raw and gritty fight sequences, which there are many of, as it does on its well thought-out and almost plausible storyline.

Soderbergh, known best for directing "Ocean's Eleven" through Thirteen, clearly and precisely edited this film seamlessly while painting a pretty easy to follow picture throughout the film's entirety. Where most of Soderbergh's films have a few twists and turns that throw the audience for a loop until finally being revealed at the end, "Haywire" sticks to its guns and gives us a straight forward plot that focuses primarily on the very beautiful and extremely toned Gina Carano as she kicks, punches, and wrestles her co-stars into submission. That's not to say this film lacks a certain cleverness Soderbergh's previous pictures contained, it's just not that essential to our overall enjoyment.

"Haywire" was shot primarily in Dublin, Ireland, so we get to see some fantastic areas around the city that really add to the excitement that Soderbergh's filming style already brings. Soderbergh also has a way of placing a large quantity of talent into one setting while making each actors' role just as important as the next and this film is no exception. Even Michael Angarano and Anthony Brandon Wong, who's screen times are limited, still become a vital part of the main story. And while everyone does a fine job making this film exciting and fun, it is Gina Carano who ultimately thrusts "Haywire" ahead of this week's box-office competition.

It's rare in the motion picture business to find actors, and more to the point actresses, who are willing to do their own stunts but Carano, having a background in the MMA world, insisted on doing it herself. When we see her jumping across rooftops, getting punched in the face by men twice her size, and grappling her assailants to the floor in order to choke them out with her thighs around their neck, it's her all the way. The film is rated R for violence, but in all honesty I think they could have gotten away with a PG-13 rating and it still would have been just as fun and totally worth seeing.