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 | Firewall Director: Richard Loncraine Rated: M Now screening  Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) is a security expert working at a major bank devising firewalls that prevent thieves from stealing money online. Bill (Paul Bettany) comes with a proposition to the bank, which becomes a more personal proposition to Jack. Bill, along with his gang, kidnap Jack's wife and two children and hold them hostage. Jack is forced to electronically transfer funds from the bank for Bill, who knows what matters to Jack most. A battle of wits ensues between the men in which only one of them can come out alive.This is the first film Harrison Ford has made in three years, and for me, it wasn't worth the wait. The role of Jack is one of a devoted father and hard worker who knows his job inside out. Whilst Ford handles the role well, it's one that he's done much better many times before. You know exactly how his character will react and it holds no surprises as to how his character will outsmart the bad guys. The tired and scraggy look that Ford displays throughout the film betrays the general laziness of the movie as a whole. Paul Bettany as the stereotypical British baddie, does his best to add menace to the part, and mostly succeeds. But as with Ford's role, it's one that is by the numbers, and Bettany plays him more over the top as the story drags on. The rest of the cast, including Robert Patrick, Alan Arkin, Virginia Madsen, are completely wasted and don't add anything to their one dimensional characters. 'Firewall' attempts to be a techno thriller about how computers have taken over how money is moved, and how easy it is for it to be stolen without anyone noticing. However the script is poorly written, with several plot holes that are never explained. The mistake the film makes is to mix thriller genres, and seems to get confused with what it wants to be. This confusion leads to the film becoming very uneven, without a proper narrative. The film feels like a 'greatest hits' package of previous Harrison Ford movies, which only serves as a reminder of better films than this one. Only in the last third of the film do things pick up, but that's only because the story has become so far fetched, that you just have to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole thing. It's a shame that such a good cast is wasted in a script which is clearly B-Grade material at best. By revolving the entire film around Harrison Ford's presence, the filmmakers made the mistake of giving him sub-standard material, which in turn made him and everyone else deliver bad performances. The only saving grace of the film is the ending, which is a lot a fun and is enjoyable in that you don't have to think too hard while watching it. Whilst the film can be viewed as good escapism, there is a fine line between that and being preposterous, which this film most certainly is! A very silly film with an actor who seems content to coast towards the twilight of his career.  | |
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