Firewall Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)February 8th, 2006
FIREWALL
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
In FIREWALL, director Richard Loncraine (WIMBLEDON), working from Joe Forte's tightly written script, crafts an old fashioned thriller from some high tech trappings. In the process he produces a highly enjoyable and fast-paced picture that is simply a lot of fun. Sure, many critics will write it off as just an expensive B movie, but, if you like leaving a theater feeling like you've really gotten your money's worth of entertainment, FIREWALL provides an exhilarating ride that will leave you completely satisfied.
In the first of many good casting choices, Harrison Ford plays Jack Stanfield, the head of network security at a medium-sized bank in Seattle. The city appears to be right in the middle of monsoon season, which makes for some great atmospherics. Even better is the heavy scoring by Alexandre Desplat, which lends some dramatic musical punctuation to most scenes. You may remember him from his dreamy and mysterious music for BIRTH, starring Nicole Kidman.
Jack may be an exec, but early-on he demonstrates a few technical tricks to the computer whiz kids who work for him. His wife, played nicely by Virginia Madsen, is a busy architect and housewife. Their two children, played well enough in underwritten roles by Jimmy Bennett and Carly Schroeder, are there mainly so that they can be used against Jack by the criminals who come to take over Jack's family and his life and start ordering him to do exactly as they order.
Making an excellent villain, Paul Bettany plays Bill Cox, a self-described "nice guy" who will not hurt Jack's family if Jack helps him rob the bank, all electronically, of course. Much time is spent on the scheme, which is both intricate and plausible. Along the way, Jack learns firsthand that Bill can be extremely ruthless and deadly if crossed.
Sometimes it is in the supporting cast in which a film's secret sauce is discovered, and so it is in FIREWALL. The television series "24" is well known for its star Kiefer Sutherland, but it is in the supporting cast, most especially that of its number one geek, the lovably awkward and socially-deficient Chloe, where the show is made to shine. Mary Lynn Rajskub, who gives Chloe her condescending yet endearing smile, plays Janet, Jack's loyal motormouth of a secretary. The movie is smart enough to use Rajskub's sarcastic skills so that she steals all of her scenes without appearing to be trying to do so.
As the clock counts down on the heist and as it becomes clear that Bill may or may not ever release Jack's family, Jack begins to take things into his own hands. His actions appear both plausible and difficult. He is a man in his sixties, who, although he may be no spring chicken, finds his adrenaline pumping when it is his family's survival that is at stake. You'll be rooting for the Stanfield family, and you'll be fascinated by the robber's plan and the way in which Jack tries to thwart it.
The movie's Hollywood ending, especially the last scene, is pure hokum, but who cares. What you want is for Jack to be victorious and his family to be saved. You bought the tickets. You want to get what you paid for.
FIREWALL runs a fast 1:45. It is rated PG-13 for "some intense sequences of violence" and would be acceptable for kids around 11 and up.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, February 10, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
