Review of Haywire (2011) by Blueforest — 14 Jul 2012

I'm quite surprised at the strong critical reception to this film, as on the whole it left quite a lot to be desired. Soderbergh certainly lends his extremely creative, quirky skill in appropriate ways (the action sequences are rather unconventional and very well shot), but it's abundantly clear that this movie was written solely around Carano's fighting skills, which is a blessing and a curse.

Anyone who has followed her career knows that she is an extremely capable fighter, and she shows off her athletic dexterity admirably and believably in the film. She's a much more believable action star than, say, Angelina Jolie, and it's exciting to witness her antics with her numerous male adversaries in the film.

However, given the bland, generic storyline (you've seen it a million times before) coupled with very poor writing and lack of true suspense, the film ends on a very dull note. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is the fact that Carano is an absolutely terrible actress.

She just had no idea what she was doing, and she lacked even the slightest emotional connection to her role. This really is too bad and the film would have gained a lot if she had been more prepared.