Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, John Travolta and Don Cheadle
Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is a brilliant hacker who recently got out of jail and banned from working his mojo on computers. This suits him just fine, because all he wants to do is to see more of his young daughter Holly (Camryn Grimes). Unfortunately, his ex-wife (Drea de Matteo)is an alcoholic bitch married to a porn industry king and has gotten full custody. Stanley needs a lot of money to win a court battle and he doesn’t have any. Knowing his weak point, Ginger (Halle Berry) finds Stanley to make him a dangerous offer: her boss Gabriel (John Travolta) needs the best hacker for a highly illegal job and is ready to pay Stanley millions for his services. While Stanley doesn’t want to go back to jail, “helping” Gabriel seems like the only solution. Unfortunately, Gabriel is a lot more dangerous and psychotic than Stanley first estimated, Ginger seems to be full of secrets and the F.B.I agent Roberts (Don Cheadle) – the very agent who put Stanley behind bars in the first place- is after Gabriel and wants to use Stanley to get to him. How the hell will Stanley survive and get Holly back?
**
Swordfish is one kick-ass action/thriller. It starts with a blast, and some dialogue that only foreshadows how crazy and well-prepared Gabriel is. John Travolta makes a great villain. And Gabriel is even scarier and more powerful than his Broken Arrow character because well, the villains and the good guys in Swordfish have some really fine grey areas. The writing is fast, the action is satisfactory and despite defying logic in some areas, it is one hell of a ride. Directed by Dominic Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds, Kalifornia, Season of the Witch). Written by Skip Woods (Hitman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The A- Team).
8/10 for the entertainment value.
Favorite scenes:
– When Gabriel (John Travolta) goes all ballistic to shake their tail in the street – while making Stanley drive.
– Everything about Gabriel’s getting in, and getting out plan.
Fun notes:
– Stanley’s ex-wife is played by Drea de Matteo – who played Angie on Desperate Housewives in the show’s 6th season. She also played Joey’s sister in the Friends spin-off Joey.
– Hugh Jackman co-starred with Halle Berry 3 more times: The X-Men trilogy.
– Dominic Sena has directed Nicolas Cage twice: 2000’s action film Gone in Sixty Seconds and 2011’s fantasy action Season of the Witch.
– Nicolas Cage and John Travolta starred in Face/Off together where both of them played the villain and the good guy in the same movie.
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Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage
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