Haywire

Haywire is directed by Steven Soderbergh and features an all star cast that includes Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum and Michael Fassbender.

However the main star is MMA fighter Gina Carano as Mallory Kane who works in black ops and is hired to pose as he wife of a British agent and ends up being a target for elimination herself. Carano has to unravel who is trying to set her up.

The film is shot with little dialogue and a moody setting, many of the known cast has small roles and its a 'unHollywood thriller' although Carano does get to kick ass as well as getting chased mainly in the streets or rooftops of Dublin.

Fassbender and Carano's scenes standout especially their combat sequences. Its an unusual film given the director is an Oscar winner 'A' lister director who has gone back to his roots and decided to make an independent action film. By and large he succeeds and Carano looks like someone, given the right material who could breakout as an action star.

Steven Soderbergh, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum - the hype pre release was high but the reviews lacklustre. So when I finally came to watch this movie I had little expectation. As stated previously Soderbergh has tried to put an arty spin on an action movie which doesn't quite work. The story is too loose and some of the character development far too shallow. However for me the highlight was the surprisingly good performance from Gina Carano. A great introduction to high profile acting from a believable actor who looks stunning and can really pack a punch. Hopefully we will get to see a lot more of Gina in the future.

Sharp, uncomplicated, and thrilling, 'Haywire' packs its punches quite effectively. The gloomy tone, the serious setting, the unapologetically aggressive fight sequences; this is an unusual action drama.

From the initial confrontation scene to the movie's comic ending, there isn't a single dull moment in it. The list of talented male actors involved is endless - Tatum, McGregor, Douglas, Banderas, Fassbender, Paxton. But it's the athletic and talented female lead, not-so-known Gina Carano, who carries the movie forward. She's like the female Bourne. I wonder why she hasn't done more movies.

The action sequences between Carano and the male actors are uniquely brilliant; the male and the female punch, hit and kick each other with the same amount of raw brutal force, which is not usually seen in movies. In that regard, the movie is quite feminist, in my opinion. And the fact that no sound effect or background score is used during the fight scenes make the sequences feel more real and effective.

The editing is tight, the camera-work is beautiful, the background score is minimal, and the story doesn't try too hard to be complex, which makes the movie an exhilarating ride.

Once again, I stepped into a movie with zero expectations, and was pleasantly surprised. People told me to avoid "Haywire" but I found it reasonably entertaining.

First off, I was amazed by the number of likable actors that are in the movie - Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Bill Paxton (where has he been hiding?) all star in co-roles. I don't know the main actress in the movie but she did a fine job, and apparently did all her own stunts.

Flick has been un-fairly compared to Angelina Jolies "Salt." Why? Because it stars a woman kicking guys ass's perhaps? I guess their plots are kind off similar too, but "Salt" was an over the top action movie. Outside of a couple of movie-style fights "Haywire" feels more realistic, but where it really succeeds is in its style. It works as a cool thriller that I found myself smiling at because off the way it tells its ex-assassin-getting-chased-again plot. Although maybe not everyone will give it a thumbs up, I will because I enjoyed it.

This movie stands out from any movie I've ever seen for one reason: it is the only movie I've seen where I believed the people fighting were actually fighting. I can't remember ever seeing a film where I was actually wincing and tensing up from fear that somebody was going to get hurt.

This isn't a film that depends on CGI or fast cuts or clever angles or even stunt people for the most part. The star of the film is clearly a very physical and capable woman of action, and she made me believe she was actually hurting the people she was pretending to hurt.

For that reason alone, it will always stand out in my memory. Most action films these days are terribly boring because it's all so cartoonish and exaggerated and stylized, and therefore unbelievable and fake. But this film kept the action grounded in the physical capabilities of its very capable star, and that made it anything but boring. I guess it didn't do to well at the box office, which is too bad. If this had launched a franchise I'd have been a big fan.