The kick-butt female action flick is the only way action junkies can get a fix away from the Redbox renegades and whatever Jason Statham has been up to. There's just something more PC about a girl crunching bones in the 2010's, in the least there's something marketable. When I was a kid, anything with a female protagonist was by default for girls. Might as well paint her guns barrels pink and slap a Hello Kitty decal on the boots.
Obviously something has changed when two female led actionfests (Underworld: Awakening, Haywire) can open nationwide on the same weekend. A quick look at the two films shows that the leads couldn't be more different. Underworld: Awakening has classical beauty Kate Beckinsale doing, with the aid of computers, the maneuvers that Haywire star Gina Carano has mastered in MMA sporting events.
Haywire takes a very played out story about betrayal and interjects the newfound feminist biological weapon. Mallory Kane (Carano) is on the run. She's been setup and I probably shouldn't say much more about it. Unfortunately I can confirm that there isn't a sound reason beyond jealousy for her to be in this position.
Director Steven Soderbergh has a habit of taking non-actors and placing them at the front of his work. Carano is his latest find. She does well with her lines, but I can't help to think exchanges were simplified for her benefit. There isn't an effort to coax a performance out of her as she's set on maintaining indifference. What she does bring to the table is a multitude of cool looking moves. Springboarding off a wall for kick and twisting through the air with a punch sure look sweet and go a long way in making something out of this nothing.
As for the filmmaking techniques on hand, Haywire is descriptive Soderbergh. For the heck of it, there is a Quincy Jones inspired score that overrides action scenes. I've never seen a movie have as tough of a time picking a look and going with it. A few outdoor scenes are desaturated, indoor oversaturated, natural lighting at the end it's like these are scenes lifted from other movies then pasted together.
Haywire packs some punches—in a carry-on. Cool fisticuffs here and there, some interesting takes on stunt driving, but the story doesn't hold it all together. Hopefully Carano can develop into an actress, but this isn't a star-making turn. **
Obviously something has changed when two female led actionfests (Underworld: Awakening, Haywire) can open nationwide on the same weekend. A quick look at the two films shows that the leads couldn't be more different. Underworld: Awakening has classical beauty Kate Beckinsale doing, with the aid of computers, the maneuvers that Haywire star Gina Carano has mastered in MMA sporting events.
Haywire takes a very played out story about betrayal and interjects the newfound feminist biological weapon. Mallory Kane (Carano) is on the run. She's been setup and I probably shouldn't say much more about it. Unfortunately I can confirm that there isn't a sound reason beyond jealousy for her to be in this position.
Director Steven Soderbergh has a habit of taking non-actors and placing them at the front of his work. Carano is his latest find. She does well with her lines, but I can't help to think exchanges were simplified for her benefit. There isn't an effort to coax a performance out of her as she's set on maintaining indifference. What she does bring to the table is a multitude of cool looking moves. Springboarding off a wall for kick and twisting through the air with a punch sure look sweet and go a long way in making something out of this nothing.
As for the filmmaking techniques on hand, Haywire is descriptive Soderbergh. For the heck of it, there is a Quincy Jones inspired score that overrides action scenes. I've never seen a movie have as tough of a time picking a look and going with it. A few outdoor scenes are desaturated, indoor oversaturated, natural lighting at the end it's like these are scenes lifted from other movies then pasted together.
Haywire packs some punches—in a carry-on. Cool fisticuffs here and there, some interesting takes on stunt driving, but the story doesn't hold it all together. Hopefully Carano can develop into an actress, but this isn't a star-making turn. **