A Fresh Take in the Action Genre: Haywire Review

Sunday, January 29, 2012  Cinemavens   Comments

Written by Jared. 

Steven Soderbergh is a director who knows what he is doing. Since 2000, he has participated in the making of at least two to three films a year. He is the man behind the Ocean’s 11-13 movies, “Michael Clayton”, last year’s “Contagion” and many others. Needless to say, Steven Soderbergh knows how to make a movie, and this is especially true with his newest movie “Haywire”.



“Haywire” (R) is an action film that follows a trained operative Mallory, played by MMA fighter Gina Carano. She works for a private security business, owned by Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) traveling all over the world in secret missions. This all changes after a mission where she is set up and she turns rogue. Action movies and television shows have used similar story lines many times in the past (e.g., Bourne Trilogy, 24, Italian Job, and Person of Interest). It would seem this type of story has become popular but rather stale and crowded. To make it in this genre, a movie needs something to stand out amongst the others, something new or maybe a different approach. It's that different approach that Steven Soderbergh uses that sets “Haywire” apart from the other movies that crowd the action genre.

Small changes make the movie's style unique. “Haywire” is minimalist - less is more. It takes that normal grind of plot that similar movies tend to get bogged down by and throws it out. Where most action films today slow down with planning and scheming of what will happen next, “Haywire” speeds up so we don’t have to watch that. It moves from scene to scene, keeping everything fresh and exciting. There is a chase scene near the beginning of the film, and what makes this chase scene unique is that it is stripped down to be as minimal as possible. We see the chase, but we hear nothing but a nice, cool jazz playing. There is no heavy breathing and panting, no yelling, but just action and jazz. This happens regularly throughout the movie. The jazz continually plays during these scenes, and because jazz is usually not played during action movies, the music gives it a different feel and tone.

Another upside is that this film is not bogged down by the mediocre actors who usually occupy the action genre (e.g., The Rock, Vin Diesel, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham, etc.), rather it is boosted by actors like Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender (a personal favorite), and Gina Carano. Carano is a retired mixed-martial arts fighter who was, at one point, ranked third in the MMA. This is Carano’s first movie, and she does a great job. Her fighting background (and good looks) makes her a perfect fit for the role. None of the acting in this movie is particularly outstanding or mind blowing, but every role is taken care of and is played perfectly. There is not a single bad performance.

The minimalist approach is one of the best parts of this film, but it can also be its detractor. “Haywire” does suffer from a little confusion, because we're not sure what is going on at some points during the movie. The plot is stretched a little thin and is, at times, a little unbelievable. Because the normal grind favors more action, it can be hard to follow every now and then. Despite these few downsides, “Haywire” comes out on top with a new approach to an old story and adds excitement to a dull genre. 






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