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Swordfish Customer Reviews (37 - 39 of 57 Reviews)

If I could have received $9.5 billion for watching this film
I'd have built a time machine to stop this movie from ever having been made, which would have created a paradox destroying the entire cosmos, but it's a universe better off for not having this movie in it.

As many critics have noted, with Travolta's opening lines, "You know what the problem with Hollywood is? It makes $#!*" truer words were never spoken. Rotten villains -- okay. Utterly incompetent villains -- eh. "Realistic" depictions of programming a worm include nonsense technobabble while Hugh Jackman -- a better actor than this movie deserves -- gyrates his hips in front of a computerized Rubik's cube.

It tries to be both Sneakers and The Usual Suspects and ends up worse than Hackers. Don't rent this film, much less buy it.

Let the Action Begin
For slam-bang, heart-stopping, adrenaline pumping action, you've come to the right place, and the code name is "Swordfish," directed by Dominic Sena and starring John Travolta and Hugh Jackman. In the opening scene, Gabriel Shear (Travolta) is sitting at a table in a coffee shop discussing the hostage situation in the Pacino movie "Dog Day Afternoon," with a couple of unidentified gentlemen you see only from the back, because the camera is focused on Gabriel. And it's an absolutely riveting scene. And it isn't long before the action starts, and once it does it pretty much keeps going until the end, with a brief respite now and then to plug some story into the proceedings. The plot is fairly complex and somewhat convoluted, but the main thing is you get an idea of who the good guys and the bad guys are, or at least enough to keep you in the story, which is held together by some incredible action that is ruthless and relentless.

Gabriel is something of an enigmatic presence from the beginning; you know he's up to something and that it involves the transferring of a huge amount of money (like in the billions) that belongs to someone else from their bank accounts into his own. But to successfully effect his plan he needs the services of the number one computer hacker in the world. Enter Stanley Jobson, newly paroled after a stretch in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary; he's the man for the job, but the terms of his parole forbid him to even touch a computer. Gabriel, however, has done his homework, and knows how to get to Jobson, and it has to do with Stanley's estranged daughter, and his need for some cold, hard cash that would enable him to go into court and fight his ex-wife for custody. And when the amount Gabriel offers Jobson is so far beyond anything he could imagine, it makes it hard to turn him down. But then again, if he winds up back in the slammer, he's never going to see his daughter again. So what's it to be? Gabriel has no doubts about which way Jobson will go, though; he's very persuasive, and he's a man who is used to getting anything he wants.

Sena is no John Woo, but he definitely knows how to keep things interesting and moving along so quickly that any plot holes that may surface are lost in the swirl of the action. And he comes right at you with it, big and loud and thoroughly entertaining, just what you want in an action film-- and unlike Sena's previous outing, "Gone In 60 Seconds," there is enough story here to keep it involving. There's a good use of foreshadowing, too, from the opening scene, in which Gabriel pretty much outlines what you can expect, to another prominent element which, if it gets by you will have you slapping your forehead and saying, "Right! I get it!"

Travolta does a good job of bring Gabriel to life and conveying that subtle menace that makes him a threatening presence without appearing outwardly brutal or malicious. But there's a complexity to the character that he never really lets you in on, and you can only guess as to what it is that really motivates him. Jackman, on the other hand, gives you a pretty good indication of what makes Jobson tick, though what you see is pretty much what you get; as with Travolta's character, there isn't much time for character development, but you're at least given enough to get a handle on them. The same goes for Halle Berry's Ginger, whom you're never quite sure of until the very end. Berry certainly cuts a striking figure, however, and she has a smoldering screen presence that makes her a good fit with both Travolta and Jackman. Don Cheadle gives a good performance as Agent Roberts, though it isn't much of a stretch for him artistically; in Roberts, in fact, there is a definite resemblance to the character he played in "Traffic."

The supporting cast includes Vinnie Jones (Marco), Camryn Grimes (Holly), Sam Shepard (The Senator), Laura Wachal (Helga) and Zach Grenier (A,D. Joy). Sena definitely moves up a rung on the action/director's ladder with "Swordfish," which is well made and packed with thrills, action and some engaging performances. it may not be a film that will go down in cinematic history, but it's good entertainment and a cut above the usual summer fare that falls within the action genre. Travolta casts a mean evil eye, Jackman's fingers fly over a keyboard and Berry sizzles. Not much more you could ask for, I think, in an action movie. And that's the magic of the movies.

sword fish
this movie is a really good movie one of my favorites....because it (...)is real realistic and stuff. i suggest seing this movie and buying it

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