Never Betray Someone You Trained DVD HAYWIRE Review

★★★★☆

If I had two words with which to sum up Haywire, they would be ‘controlled’ and ‘purposeful’. This film that knows what it wants to do, and then does it, a real oddity. These days, it’s rare to find a film as streamlined as Haywire, something without blockbuster bombast or indie subtext-mongering. This is a film interested in nothing but capturing the thrills of violence. And yet, this functional approach is executed so well, that its pure efficiency becomes compelling.

Haywire spares little time for plotting, the story being just an excuse for the action’s existence. Our lead character is Mallory Kane (Gina Carano), an ex-marine and current mercenary of extreme competence. The film finds her in the process of switching employers, leaving the company owned by ex-husband Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) for greener pastures. Her last job is simple: rescue a Chinese dissident kidnapped in Barcelona. But, of course, the simple job turns out to be not so simple, and when the classic spy doublecross happens, Kane must punch her way towards clearing her name.

This punching is something that Carano, as a Mixed Martial Arts champion, is particularly skilled at. However, what her experience brings to the role is not, say, what the Pencak Silat masters of The Raid bring to their battles. Haywire is not action-as-dance. Instead, the film’s fights feel more like legitimate brawls, with the fighting having a rough and improvised look to it (that is most likely the result of painstaking choreography). Every blow feels like it has weight, especially since the film emphasises that, though Kane may be skilled, she still has very human limitations. Add to this the trick of having the score disappear in each fight scene and Haywire’s action gains a beautiful, stripped-down realism.

Carano herself is not a bad screen presence. There’s a solidity to Mallory Kane, a kind of brusque competence, that I can’t imagine many Hollywood women (so used to secondary, non-assertive roles) pulling off. It’s in everything Carano is: her wry smile, the grace of her movements, the fact that even in a robe and a towel wrapped round her head, she looks capable of delivering a thorough beating. She is a very believable action hero. Unfortunately, there are downsides to hiring fighters rather than actors, and Carano’s problem is that she cannot deliver emotion. This doesn’t make her performance bad: it’s just completely without nuance. In essence, Carano is only good when she’s punching people. Luckily, that is mostly what she does.

However, though Carano may not be the best actress, the rest of the cast more than make up for that. For me, the top ranking performances came from Ewan McGregor, as the military company minnow trying to play in a world of sharks, and Michael Fassbender as the coldly professional Paul. But Channing Tatum, who is solidly likeable as Kane’s colleague Aaron, also deserves a mention, and Antonio Banderas remains a man of pure Latin gravitas. These guys provide the emotional dimension that Carano cannot: while she sells the action, it is they that sell the fiction.

There’s also a fair bit of behind-the-scenes artistry. The action camerawork is without excessive flair: there’s a fair bit of cutting between different angles but shakycam chaos is thankfully avoided. Director Stephen Soderbergh knew these fights had to be seen. However, though his action scenes have just enough energy, occasionally his dialogue scenes have too much; some made me feel a bit dizzy. Meanwhile, the biggest behind-the-scenes triumph definitely belongs to David Holmes, who scored the film. His jazzy beat is the perfect accompaniment to Haywire’s visuals: understated, yet pulse-poundingly energetic.

All in all, I really recommend Haywire. It is a craftsman’s film, functional rather than artistic. But it shows just how much execution matters. On the face of it, Haywire probably should not be as good as it is. As a story, it is little better than a sprawling cliché. And yet Soderbergh makes it feel tight, focused and brutal. As such, Haywire manages to be a fantastic movie on two levels. It is both an exciting, violent thriller, and a perfect example of the powers of a veteran filmmaker.

Adam Brodie

Rating:15
UK DVD/BD Release Date: 21st May 2012
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas
Buy Haywire On: Blu-ray / DVD

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Adam Brodie

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