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Nobody better bet against Ford to outfox, outfight clever villains |
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Friday, 10 February 2006 |
Firewall is an efficient thriller in the vein of Ransom: Incredibly bright and organized bad guys plot to exploit a man by threatening his family, only to have the tables turned on them.
Jack Stanfield is the head of network security for a large Seattle-based bank chain. He maintains the complex security system he designed by thwarting the attempts of hackers to override his program. He is so savvy, he uses ‘‘black-hole" as a verb.
A gang of thieves tries to exploit his knowledge by taking his wife and children hostage until he devises a way to beat his own system and siphon millions out of depositors’ accounts.
If you or I were facing such a dilemma, we would probably opt to do the crooks’ bidding and end up getting ourselves and our loved ones killed.
Jack, though, is played by Certified Movie Hero Harrison Ford, whose duty is to outwit the thieves, save the family (including the beloved dog) and execute the villains for their audacity.
Ford did it as the U.S. president in Air Force One, just as Mel Gibson shredded the kidnappers in Ransom. The promise of justice fully exercised is why we pay our money to see their movies.
We don’t even mind much that Ford, at 63, shouldn’t be able to duke it out with an opponent two-thirds his age. Or that, afterward, unraveling what happened for the authorities might take years.
Firewall treads a well-worn trail, but it supplies some welcome wrinkles.
Paul Bettany, the ship’s doctor in Master and Commander, makes an icy ringleader. He’s more human and prone to worry than, say, Alan Rickman’s ultra-cool baddie in Die Hard, but he offers enough evidence of psychopathy to keep the movie on edge.
Even better, the four members of his team aren’t the usual grunt-and-sneer thugs who usually follow the diabolical leader. Each is erratic in a different way, suggesting to Jack that one or more might be convinced that the leader won’t let them live when the job is done.
Virginia Madsen, experiencing a career renaissance since Sideways, lends welcome flash and fire to the unexceptional role of Jack’s wife. Mary Lynn Rajskub (24), as Jack’s secretary, becomes a surprising and welcome ally.
But, hey, how much help does a hero need? For Ford, whupping bad guys is Job One. He has been doing it long enough that he knows how to avoid the pitfalls. He often seems vulnerable, outfoxed, even helpless. His enemies might be fooled, but the audience isn’t.
Firewall isn’t art, nor will it dethrone the more inspired thrillers of the past couple of decades. But it provides engrossing entertainment without being too improbable (like Flightplan) or too grisly (like the Die Hards).
It almost makes one believe that Ford can still crack Indiana Jones’ bullwhip. |