pop judgment

So January is traditionally reserved for movies that are frankly pretty terrible. We went to see Haywire with extremely low expectations and shockingly it turned out to be a super solid action movie. Thoughts below:

Plot- The plot was surprisingly engaging for the viewer. We had no idea what was going to happen next for the majority of the movie, and the scenes were put in an order that was both easy to understand, and yet difficult to predict what was coming. We were never confused, but we were always intrigued – which is generally how we like our spy movies to be. Unlike in other spy movies (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Good Shepherd), we did not feel stupid at the end. It was also super awesome to see a strong, female lead kicking ass through out the entire thing and outsmarting her fellow super spy/government contracted assassin co-workers.

Acting- If you just look at the people cast in this movie, you already know that the acting is going to be pretty solid. Gina Carano gets top billing, and no, you haven’t heard of her unless you’re a mixed martial arts enthusiast. Director Steven Soderbergh digitally lowered her voice… and you can tell. Overall her acting is really quite good, but her voice sounds robotic, largely because it is. The other important actors in this are Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, and Michael Douglas. We definitely have an all-star line-up of men in this cast, and all of them were shockingly well-utilized. Virtually none of them were playing the parts that you would expect them to–Michael Douglas being the main exception–so it was great to see these really terrific actors get to play against type. Although seriously, what is up with Antonio Banderas’s beard in this movie? Otherwise, all of the actors were really quite convincing as various types of mercenaries and everyone was enjoyable to watch.

Fight Scenes- These were so legit. The benefits of casting Gina Carano meant that this was a movie centered around quality, and believable fight scenes. The chase sequence, where she is escaping a whole bunch of SWAT team like assailants was super awesome. They may have had some helmets and giant guns, but she outsmarted them in a Dry Cleaner’s by using A CLOTHING RACK. Like a boss. Also in every fight scene she clearly knows what she is doing, unlike some actresses pretending they know how to fight (Angelina). We would stay out of this girl’s way on and off screen.

Questionable Moments- Once again, that beard. Antonio, you are so attractive, what is happening on your face? Not to spoil anything, but there is a scene where they run into a deer which is just really strange and a very deus ex machina moment, without any real reason for it to happen. Also, this is a very very white movie. There really doesn’t seem to be a reason that all of the mercenaries were white people. Lastly, there is a fight scene on a beach where seriously no one else is there. Just, you know, there for Haywire people to fight on. Where are the tourists?? That is a gorgeous beach, we would be there in a heartbeat.

Conclusions- Go see Haywire! Gina Carano kicks some serious ass and the plot is definitely engaging enough to keep you thinking while still retaining the entertainment values of any good action movie.