The Diva's "Swordfish" Review

(click here to skip to this movie's rating) Swordfish (2001) Viewed at Regal Cinema's Kent 6 Rated R; approximate running time of 120 minutes Directed by: Dominic Sena Written by: Skip Woods Starring: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Camryn Grimes, Vinnie Jones, and Sam Shepard Genre: Action/ Drama WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW. The Digest Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) just got out prison for a cyber crime and part of his punishment is that he can't see his daughter and he can't touch a computer. All of that changes the minute Ginger (Halle Berry) walks into his life. Her employer, Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) has offered to pay Stan 100 thousand dollars just to meet him. With that kind of money, Stan can quit his dead end job and fight for his daughter. Little does Stan know, the 100K doesn't come easy. He has to hack a government computer in 60 seconds or lose his life. He is then convinced to stay on the payroll and create a computer worm (similar to a virus) that has - an unheard of - 512 bit encryption and get a nice fat check for 10 million. This "worm" will then be used to steal 9.5 billion dollars to finance Gabriel's anti-terrorist activities. Meanwhile, the F.B.I agent that put Stan away in the first place, Agent A.D. Roberts (Don Cheadle) is on his tail. Stan must risk his freedom and touch a computer, so he can have a decent chance at gaining custody of his daughter. Can he do it with both Gabriel and Agent Roberts breathing down his neck? The Dish One of the best lines in this movie is spoken early on by Gabriel Shear - "You know what the problem with Hollywood is? They make shit." Unfortunately "Swordfish" is not exactly exempt from that statement. While it's not the worst movie I've seen in recent weeks, it left a lot to be desired. Quite frankly, they didn't blow up enough stuff to make up for the crap they called a plot. I wasn't feeling the whole bus thing, because well, I've seen "Speed". I wasn't feeling the whole "worm" thing because I thought it was stupid. Besides the American public needs to understand the code to create computer programs doesn't render in 3D and pretty pictures. It's lines and lines of words and numbers. Not little DNA sequence like building blocks. This really annoys the geek in me. Halle did show her boobies. They were perky. She could have chosen a better movie in which to do it. If I were her, right about now I'd be saying, " I can't believe I let the girls come out in play in that turkey of a movie." I'm starting to become convinced that John Travolta is the kiss of death for any movie. The stand out was Don Cheadle. Without him, the movie would have been completely worthless. It is because of him and the hostage scene that I've decided not to give this movie a red. The Directive Catch a matinee. Swordfish? Fish Food. back to top Copyright Kamal "The Diva" Larsuel-Ulbricht, 2001 EMAIL: thediva@3blackchicks.com ICQ: 8690410 http://www.3blackchicks.com/ Use the feedback form below to send your comments to The Diva