'Swordfish': Pure escapist, fun entertainment

By Joko E.H. Anwar

Swordfish, **1/2 out of four stars; Action/Thriller, 99 minutes; Starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones; Directed by Dominic Sena; A Warnes Bros. Presentation

JAKARTA (JP):Swordfish is one of those films offering you several truly amazing action sequences to make up for some lack of logic in the story, without insulting your intelligence.

The movie is unlike recent efforts from young action film directors, including the god-awful Armageddon and the incredibly stupid Pearl Harbor, both directed by Michael Bay.

Swordfish, like Sena's Gone in 60 Seconds (though not as dumb), relies on its ability to please the audiences' eyes with action scenes.

This is also a film where watching the cast is already worth the admission fee. They are clever, charismatic, and incredibly sexy.

Still, you will feel a little bit frustrated watching it at cinemas since the film will jump several times to avoid the revelation of Halle Berry's body. It is not that the frustration makes you feel like a sexist pig, but since the studio reportedly paid her a large sum of money for such scenes, it's such a waste to leave the cut shots in the censoring room, right?

Unfortunately, the movie does not give you a character to really root for, unlike John McClane in the Die Hard films, for example.

The film's opening is very promising: we get Travolta giving a monolog, suggestive of Dog Day Afternoon -- a 1970s film in which Al Pacino played a man who robbed a bank to raise money for his male lover's sex-change operation.

What if the film had ended with Al Pacino killing every hostage in the bank?, Travolta said. According to him, it would have been a happier ending, with Pacino getting the money for his lover.

From the monolog, the audience gets a feeling that the film will push it to the envelope, promising it will be more than the average action flick.

Moreover, the Travolta character actually mocks Hollywood by saying the industry's problem today is that it makes nothing but s***.

Several scenes following the speech show that the film means business.

The first bomb explosion scene will make you drop your jaw. It is simply amazing and may be one of the best visual effects in years. The scene will probably give you goose bumps due to the recent collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers. In fact, the core of the film's story is somewhat similar to what allegedly happened behind the deliberate crashing of two airplanes into the towers.

But by halfway through, your hope that you are about to see a masterpiece will evaporate. The film is still pure escapist entertainment but you will likely go just for that.

The X-Men's Hugh Jackman plays Stanley Jobson, a notorious computer hacker who retires after having some real problems with the authorities that made him lose his right to see his young daughter.

The hacker lives in a scrappy trailer while his wife now lives in a luxurious mansion with a porn film producer.

Then a young woman named Ginger (Berry) pays him a visit and says that she will pay him US$ 10,000 just to meet this mysterious man named Gabriel Shear (Travolta).

Travolta, who has turned into an icon for cool, morally ambiguous men since he played Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, has another role that fits him perfectly. He can be menacing, although not as intense as in his recent roles.

In the movie, Gabriel is described as an underground man who always gets everything he wants.

Stanley guesses that Gabriel wants to use his expertise. He first refuses the offer, but the thought of having the custody for his daughter makes him accept the man's offer to take part in a mission to rob US$9 billion from a bank, which requires hacking skills.

However, at first, Stanley has to prove his skills by hacking into the Defense Department in 60 seconds while a big man holding his hands, a gun pointing to his face and a bimbo under the table giving him further excitement.

In the process, Stanley learns the mission is much more than just a simple robbery since the plan involves several important people in the country with a hidden agenda.

Before Stanley can withdraw from the mission, he finds himself trapped in a dangerous game which may harm not only his life but hundreds of others'.

There are no great ideas in the story but if you do not mind distractions, which include some confusing moments, you will have a good time. And there is no need to feel intimidated if the film is advertised as a high-tech feature that you think might use all kinds of dizzying computer terms. The film is not that complicated.