Haywire – Movie Review

Haywire‘ is the latest vehicle for Hollywood director and producer Steven Soderbergh. He’s responsible for some interesting cinema, including ‘Solaris’, the superb ‘Che’, and most recently the thought-provoking ’Contagion’, but unfortunately ’Haywire’ doesn’t quite make the grade. 

The story follows ruthless contract killer Mallory (Gina Carano) as she tracks down and takes out her multiple male betrayers, including Channing Tatum, Ewen McGregor, Antonio Banderas and Michael Fassbender. Even the craggy-voiced Michael Douglas gets several moments of screen time.

As far as I can tell, the film has been conceived as a plain background to provide a contrast for several brief scenes of extreme physical violence, executed in almost complete silence, where Mallory gets the opportunity to show the men exactly who’s boss. Par for the course in a high-octane brutal thriller you might say, but the audience is given no clues as to why the ‘assasins’ club’ has suddenly taken against one of their own, or indeed why Mallory feels it necessary to wreak revenge on absolutely every man she has ever worked with. The acting is pretty good - Michael Fassbender and Ewen McGregor’s performances are very  respectable to pick out just two, but the lack of coherent plot left me scratching my head. If women kicking ass is your thing then I recommend grabbing the ‘Kill Bill’ volumes, which have lots more gore and a more engaging storyline than  ‘Haywire’. Or if you want something current, perhaps the ‘Iron Lady’??

About Pete Stean

Pete Stean is a London-based writer and photographer. He can also be found on Twitter and on Google Plus.

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