Swordfish

	Review by Howard Anderson © 2001 Howard Anderson

Story

There exists a world within our world. A world beneath what we call cyberspace. A world protected by firewalls, passwords and the most advanced security systems. In this world we hide our deepest secrets, our most incriminating information, and of course, a whole lot of money. This is the world of Swordfish.

Gabriel Shear (John Travolta), a charismatic and dangerous spy wanting to finance his own brand of patriotism, needs to get inside this world. If he can get in, billions in illegal government funds wait for the taking. To actually steal the money, however, he'll need a superhacker, someone whose talents make even the most airtight security systems of the world look like child's play.

That's where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) enters the picture. One of the two best hackers on the planet, Stanley has been forbidden to get within 50 yards of the nearest electronics store after doing time for wreaking havoc on the FBI's controversial high-tech cyber surveillance operations. Now Stanley is living out his life in a broken-down trailer, penniless, alone and without the one thing that gives his life meaning - his daughter Holly, whom he lost in a divorce.

Gabriel and his beautiful partner Ginger (Halle Berry) lure Stanley into their clandestine world, baiting him with the one thing he can't have - a chance to reunite with Holly and start a new life. But once Stanley enters their world, he realizes that nothing in this operation is what it seems and he has become a pawn in a plot that's a lot more sinister than a high-tech bank heist.

Review

"You know what the problem with Hollywood is? They make shit. Unbelievable, unremarkable shit."

That is the first part of the opening monologue spoken by John Travolta in "Swordfish", and already at that point the realization hits you: this is not a film that is gonna be playing itself out according to any sort of motion picture guidebook for the typical big-budget Hollywood fare. That brilliantly written speech alone invalidates any preconceived notions of the standard, by the numbers deal, and thus effectively setting you up for a film that rides the razor with so much style and confidence that it, in many ways, becomes the perfect reflection of its über-cool and enigmatic antagonist.

"Swordfish" is a high-tech action/thriller that sets the stage with the penultimate cinematic attention grabber. It comes at you like an adrenalin-charged overload, where every flickering frame of on-screen action and suspense assaults your senses with the highest caliber of visual ejaculatory material. On the more cerebral side, I have to say that the story is not the most intricately devised set-up that I've seen so far, but sometimes I feel that a plot doesn't need to be completely inundated with intrigues of great complexity, if only the premise itself is interesting enough, which so happens to be the case here.

Having barely escaped the battlefield alive, John Travolta now dons the skin of Gabriel Shear, and once again he shows us that, with the right material, he is the very embodiment of cinematic coolness. Hugh Jackman is Stanley Jobson, and this is most definitely the role where he proves himself fully capable of holding his own, even without the added benefit of mutant abilities and adamanatium layered bones. Halle Berry has a presence about her that could liquefy solid steel, and in the part of Ginger she utilizes that exotic quality to the fullest. Don Cheadle is never not cool, and this film is no exception from that rule. As Agent Roberts he may be playing the straight man, but luckily that familiar edge still remains.

Along with screenwriter Skip Woods and the production talents of Joel Silver, director Dominic Sena has managed to inject the R rated action genre - a genre that is now increasingly in danger of extinction - with some sorely needed originality and energy. There are some fairly obvious computer related liberties taken in the course of the film, but it's still gonna take a lot more than just that to crash the whole of what constitutes the kick-ass joyride that is "Swordfish." So log on, tap in and kick back, and take in one of the coolest big-budget action flicks of the year.

Image

Presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, "Swordfish" is a visual feast from beginning to end, and the striking cinematography of Paul Cameron could hardly have been given a better treatment than what Warner Bros. has served up with this DVD. The image displays a detailed sharpness that is simply stunning, an amazingly vibrant color-palette completely free of smearing, and blacks that are as black as pitch, but without ever obscuring the heavily filtered shots. There are not many flaws to point out concerning this transfer. In fact, the only thing that comes to mind is a minute amount of edge enhancement, and that is it. Finito. Nothing more.

Sound

The Sound Designer and Supervising Sound Editor on "Swordfish" is Dane A. Davis, whose credits also include "The Matrix" and "Red Planet", and the soundscape he has gone about creating here is no less impressive. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is explosive and aggressive, and needless to say, the action takes full advantage of the whole soundstage. The incredible music score provided by Paul Oakenfold and Christopher Young is dynamic, energetic and dramatic, and is given more than enough punch to literally make you feel the rhythm. The crowning audio moment of the film is undoubtedly the events of Chapter two, and let me tell you, that sequence puts everything you've got through quite the workout. But there are also several other scenes in the film of pure 5.1 delight, where the frontal speakers and the surrounds all immerse you in sound, and the LFE channel is kept constantly active, maybe even enough to get a little read-out on the Richter scale from time to time.
The disc also comes with a French Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.

Features

The bonus materials compiled for "Swordfish" include, among other things, a Feature-Length Audio Commentary by Director Dominic Sena, where he touches upon most aspects of the production, like for example the varying incarnations of the screenplay, and the trials and tribulations of getting the right cast assembled. "The Making of Swordfish" is an HBO First Look Documentary, and it serves up the standard fodder of on-set interviews and behind-the-scenes glimpses. "The Effects in Focus" is a featurette that does just that, and provides some real insight into the piecing together of the film's extraordinary climax. There are also two Alternate Endings that you can view with or without the Director's Commentary, as well as the Theatrical Trailer, some bare minimum Cast and Crew Profiles, and an assortment of DVD-ROM materials.

Overall Opinion

For a suspenseful, action-packed good time, "Swordfish" will not disappoint. This is hardcore action the way it is meant to be done, and it is all brought to you courtesy of a DVD that really makes the experience memorable. The extra features could have been more extensive, but at least the transfer itself is top-notch.