Firewall

Average 2.0

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Joe Forte's story Firewall does not succumb to mediocrity, chooses to redefine it instead, having quite the proper tools and appeals in its arsenal to do so. Exquisite - ceiling remained - blend of family drama and well researched - ceiling collapsed nearby - technology thrill, Firewall at least gives you solid performances to resonate rather grateful, yet necessarily stale registers of Shallowness - Rampant with. Yes, the latter disturbance was, and IS deliberate.

Harrison Ford is an integral focal figure at the bank he is working for, mainly responsible for the network's defense capabilities. A possible fusion which he is not particularly happy about is imminent, thus the movie have a chance to start off by mild, though precise suggestions of conflict between him and Gary - personified by Robert "T1000" Patrick.

Ford soon will find out that someone plays a dirty game with him, a circumstance revealed via a debt weighing 95.000 bucks. Since this is the kind of money you can arrange a semi-decent party of, there is no wonder that he protagonist suspects his wrongdoers to be highly qualified at the respective fields of quite advanced computer wizardry and massively related blackmailing. He indeed finds his family in a definite hostage situation when arriving home, while the uninvited visitors do demand strict and swift actions from the protagonist, so they could score big time via exploiting leaks and defense holes in the bank's security.

The name of the game from now on is Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany, as these solid performers certainly do manage to save something on-and of the immensely repetitive buildup to follow up. The plot, while elegant at its ultimate core, seems rather clueless about effective methods to interconnect virtually non-existent peak moments of the middle section, thus reoccurring sequences of failed escape attempts and "super-intensive" phone calls are much more integral part of the buildup than what true excitement could keenly wish for and appreciate.



- No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
- Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!

While Paul Bettany has the definite Rutger Hauer going on here, a condition which is quite easy to appreciate, his partners in crime are totally transparent and irrelevant figures. Conflicts to form between the evildoers - because conflicts WILL form between the evildoers, did I spoil your enjoyment? - are not thoroughly developed, instead those remain as passive mirrors to reflect the rampancy and radical wickedness of the main baddie, Bettany. The film nevertheless sports some rather promising vibes, but the buildup fails to notice- or simply refuses to exploit those. Peanut butter scene? It is nice to see cautious signs of the Stockholm Syndrome presented in a movie, only to degrade them into yet another demonstration of how truly evil the baddestest man of the movie is.



Surely, Firewall can't help but reach the Good Ol' Consensus Point of All Things Do Unravel, by which the exact agenda of the negative figure becomes evident, yet, the moment of recognition arrives by a time that greets Ford's family in the gravest of danger! Fortunately enough, Indy delivers a rather acceptable performance in this sequence, offering thorough glimpses unto the emotional field which seems to be very close to a breakdown. Yet, the determination and need to save the Loved Ones - !SPOILER! - will give Ford enough fuel to overcome the challenge! Surprised, yeees?



This Is The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship.

By presenting a largely clueless- and overly cautious plot that repeats the same modules via a stale degree of enthusiastic servitude, Firewall correctly recognizes the need to rely on high caliber actors. As result, the output weighs in as a masterful demonstration on how to avoid falling into the B-Flick category, but, hell, seeing Han Solo in a B-Flick would have been too much of a bad thing anyway, right? This is not case, fortunately: Ford and Bettany both deliver in a solid, trusty fashion even when - sadly - there is not much thanks to greet that. Firewall remains a safe bet nevertheless, granted there is raining out there and all other movies decided to withdraw temporarily. Until then: you are kind of safe to kind of: skip this for kind of: eternity.

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