Movie Review: 'Haywire' features Reno kickboxer Gina Carano
Submitted by admin on Tue, 01/24/2012 - 6:54pm
The movie "Haywire,"currently screening at the Fandango Galaxy cineplex in Carson City, is a spy thriller with a twist. The top spy is a woman, Mallory Kane, played by Gina Carano, in her first major starring role.
Those who know the Northern Nevada area might recognize the name Carano from the casinos the family owns and operates. Gina's father Glenn Carano was a backup quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, and no doubt passed on some toughness to his daughter.
Mallory opens the movie with a expletive that is repeated at the close. Can't say director Steven Soderbergh isn't neat.
The opening scene foreshadows the whole film — Mallory fights and beats several guys in the process of figuring out she has been double-crossed by the agency man who hired her to rescue a Chinese journalist being held captive in Barcelona.
She saves the guy and turns him over to her putative boss, who turns him over to bad guys to execute later (not all clear here — who and why? we'll never know).
Mallory continues her odyssey with a vacation of an assignment in Dublin where she is to pose as a British agent's wife. But the agent isn't what he was supposed to be and after the required fight she beats him and then kills him with a shot trough a pillow. (Mustn't upset hotel guests, you know).
Mallory finds a broach in the dead Chinese guy's hand and realizes that she has been set up to take the fall. She escapes the Irish police with one of those thriller-required dash across roof tops.
Mallory makes peace with Coblenz (Michael Douglas, no longer the romantic lead actor) and goes to her father's luxury home in New Mexico where the bad guys are there to kill her. Never happen.
Carano is one tough lady and carries the film on her capable shoulders. Her fight scenes are violent but she always wins, even if she gets a couple of scratches. She appears in the closing moments in full camouflage make up for no particular reason.
As mentioned, the end includes the same swear word as in the beginning as Mallory drops out of the sky (or off the roof) to do the bad guys in.
OK, not the worst spy thriller, kind of fun with Gina doing her thing. Michael Douglas is suave and the rest of the cast sufficiently sinister or professional the get by. No sex except for solid kiss scene, but you can't ask a kick boxer to also make love. Probably not a date movie, too much danger of the lady involved getting ideas from Gina.
--- Sam Bauman
Cast
- Gina Carano as Mallory Kane
- Michael Fassbender as Paul
- Ewan McGregor as Kenneth
- Bill Paxton as John Kane
- Channing Tatum as Aaron
- Antonio Banderas as Rodrigo
- Michael Douglas as Coblenz
- Michael Angarano as Scott
- Mathieu Kassovitz as Studer
- Eddie J. Fernandez as Barroso
- Anthony Brandon Wong as Jiang
- Tim Connolly as Jason
- Maximino Arciniega as Gomez
- Aaron Cohen as Jamie
- Natascha Berg as Liliana
- Fergal O'Halloran as Hotel Cler
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Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Produced by Gregory Jacobs
Written by Lem Dobbs
Music by David Holmes
Cinematography Peter Andrews Studio Relativity Media
Running time 93 minutes, rated R
