Reviews

Like the "Justified" new season last year, season 2 of Reacher proves shows in the country are better than those in the city. Still entertained, but each episode had some places with unnecessary excess. Chug your drink each time you hear lines about details, don't mess with, have I told you lately and just Reacher.

Of course Swan was working at New Age and discovered chicanery. None of these razor sharpies mentioned this as a possibility. Of course Dom was a good cop (best character, actor). Of course 110 pounds in heels always beats up bigs boys. Of course baddies can't shoot straight, goodies can't miss. Of course Reacher doles out the 650 million in record time.

By the way, Cruise went at his role same as Ritchson, very little emotion. Cruise is, as everyone knows, just a better actor.

I found this movie to be boring, uninspired. Yes, Annette Bening is good, but her performance deserved a nomination, nothing more. She has a great laugh, is still beautiful, and is truly a terrific actress. But the movie can't keep up with her.

During the first half, I had to force myself to stay in the Theadora, it was so dull. And the casting of Shaun Evans was a huge mistake. He showed no hint of dashing, dangerous charm we want out of this character, nor did I believe Julia would settle for. A toothy gin goes only so far. He's a Matthew Broderick starter kit without the sense of self-deprecation.

The twist involving him, Julia and the young actress was nice - in fact, when this unfolded the movie finally started being about something other than an unbelievable romance.

SPOILER. We realize Julia's stage accommodations are just working toward her revenge. And that revenge must've looked great on page. No wait, it couldn't have looked any better in the script unless the writer was as drunk as the one in the movie. That revenge simply wasn't justified. So the ingénue wasn't so pure, stealing first Tom then Jeremy Irons (are we tired of him playing every character the same?), but Julia herself began the Thou Shalt Not behavior. Small revenge would be okay, but as the central theme? This just wasn't strong enough to sustain an entire movie.

Don't waste your time.

Though opening sequence did indeed amaze with the much-discussed 360 degree cameras, the opening of that sequence was mystifying to me. Why was Travolta's character into movies? Oh, wait, I know. His real identity (fake spoiler) was Chili Palmer, the movie-loving tough guy from Get Shorty, a nifty movie after which Travolta might've been wise to begin a sabbatical.

Back to Swordfish, whose plot was at least interesting. Travolta wants to terrorize those who terrorize the US, so he needs a computer hacker to get his organization some money. Fine. But the scene in which Halle Barry retrieves hacker Hugh Jackman contains more bad dialogue and cliches per frame than you might think possible. Of course, when she introduces herself as Ginger, this movie can't resist a groan-inducing Gilligan joke. From there, the scene gets worse with tough talk and more cliches. It's as if we switched right into parody mode.

From there the film settles down into a decent first two acts. Travolta does play cool as good as anyone, and Don Cheadle, whose career has gone the route from playing NY playground basketball legend Earl Manigot (great performance) to a cowboy porno star in Boogie Nights to its unfortunate present: playing the cop or sidekick in bigger but lesser movies like this. Cheadle deserves better than to be cast as the black guy in the white guy movie.

Action movies needn't score high on the reality scale; they need only approach it, and in one and only one does Swordfish - the relationship between Jackman and his daughter. He'll do anything to get her back from her cartoonishly drawn mother and unseen triple X Dad. Not realistic was the derivative shootout in a downtown area apparently undiscovered by police. Far less realistic was Jackman's record-breaking typing speed while locating a government password. During this scene I remembered how Jackman's name reminds me of that famous Hugh G. guy from my youth. As for the famous Halle Berry scene, I can't vouch for reality, but they were spectacular.

When Act Two ends we are taken back to the conclusion of the opening scene. I won't give away the reason for this scene. It's clever, the reason, and you might not realize it until afterward. What's unfortunate is that Swordfish deteriorates into the typical action movie Act 3, rating sky high on the preposterous scale. And what's with the bus, anyway? There's symmetry here somewhere - Berry turns down Speed, then ends up in a movie where a bus...no, I won't spoil your schlock shock. Experience the absurd on your own.

I felt Swordfish was trying too hard to be cute while telling the decent base story of a man with a peculiar way of striking back at terrorists. This is a story that European films, without all the budgets and gadgetry for explosives, would do a much better job of making.