Swordfish [MA]

After an aborted operation known only as ‘Swordfish’, billions of illegally hoarded government funds sit gathering interest and dust. Protected by firewalls, passwords, and the mot advanced security systems, the funds are impossible to gain access to. But shady CIA operative, Gabriel Shear is certain that he can steal it with the right people and the perfect plan of course. So he ropes in recovering cyber criminal and superhacker, Stanley Jobson, to crack the codes, plant the worms, and distribute the money. 

This is a pinching high-action thriller that gets you questioning, cussing, and scratching your head trying to make sense of it all. Unlike the eerily captivating psychological thrillers, of which I am personal more partial to, Swordfish is an eye-crossing, confusion-inducing look into the ‘Hacker ethic’ and the dangerous and mind-boggling world of cyber crime. Featuring an incredibly hot star studded cast as well as all the types of action and adrenaline rushes you could ask for in an hour and a half, this movie definitely packs a punch for any individual in its audience. I’m not saying that it’s a real favourite of mine (I’d only ever seen it once before and that was years ago: it’s been sitting in collection gathering dust much like the billions in government funds), but it nevertheless is a movie that I’d recommend for fans of action, crime movies, John Travolta, Halle Berry, or Hugh Jackman. 

After an aborted operation known only as ‘Swordfish’, billions of illegally hoarded government funds sit gathering interest and dust. Protected by firewalls, passwords, and the mot advanced security systems, the funds are impossible to gain access to. But shady CIA operative, Gabriel Shear is certain that he can steal it with the right people and the perfect plan of course. So he ropes in recovering cyber criminal and superhacker, Stanley Jobson, to crack the codes, plant the worms, and distribute the money. 

I think the best way to describe this movie is in terms of the ‘ripple effect’. As a whole body the film is made up of different layers, each one bigger than the last. However, rather than rippling in a wide-open expanse of lake, the surroundings are cropped by your TV set’s black bars. Sure, there are heaps of layers that you can see and they give you a gist of just how big everything is in this movie, but there’s this inherent underlying indication that it’s all even bigger than you can physically see, if any of that made sense. A bit like the Matrix saga, though not nearly as extreme in its confusion-making, Swordfish is one of these movies that you just can’t figure out it its entirety. You get very close, but something: some little thing like a glimpse of a second John Travolta, completely throws you off the tracks and makes further interpretation and meaning-making remarkably hard if not possible at all. 

John Travolta as Gabriel the head villain in a movie about villains is a standout for me. Maybe that’s just because it’s John Travolta: I really love him, particularly when he’s playing the bad guy. Here, he’s suave, direct, and charming in a real sinister sort of way. Just great. 

Hugh Jackman sort of reprises his sceptical and macho arrogant role of Wolverine as Stanley Jobson, but in scenes when he’s with his daughter he’s just lovely: a real sweetheart that you just want to give a break to. 

Starring Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Sam Shepard, Vinnie Jones, Drea de Matteo, Rudolf Martin, and Camryn Grimes, Swordfish is a enthralling movie that wrestles with and pins audience attention right from the off. Filled with action, violence, sexual tension, drama, comedy, and enough plot twists to make your head spin, it’s not an overly brilliant movie, but it is one that’s worth watching for one reason or another whatever they may be. I definitely find enjoyment to be had within its folds.