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Movie Review - Firewall (2006)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Richard Loncraine |
| Starring: |
Harrison Ford , Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, and Robert Patrick |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for some intense sequences of violence) |
| Length: |
105 minutes |
| Genre: |
Action/Drama/Thriller |
| Tagline: |
Everything He loves Is About To Be Used Against Him. |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
| Website: |
Firewall |
| Release: |
February 10, 2006 |
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PLOT
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Jack Stanfield (Ford), a computer security specialist for the Seattle-based Landrock Pacific Bank, has built his
reputation on designing the most effective anti-theft computer systems in the banking industry. Jack's expertise
has allowed him to provide a comfortable life for his wife (Madsen) and children.
However, Bill Cox (Bettany) has been studying Jack and his family for over a year. He's looking to get rich,
so he turns Jack's comfortable little world upside when he leads a group of mercenaries in kidnapping Jack's family.
Jack is now forced to figure out a way to hack into the supposedly impenetrable security system that he created.
If Jack agrees to Bill's plan then how can he get his family back safely without incriminating himself in the
process? Old Man Ford in a continual state of nervousness ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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If you demand that your thrillers are fool-proof and devoid of any implausibility then perhaps Firewall
isn't for you. Elitist critics (i.e. 90% of those not named Johnny Betts) are complaining that Firewall
is formulaic; it's by-the-numbers. Yeah, true. So?
Grandma's recipe for her chocolate chip cookies is formulaic and by-the-numbers as well, is it not? Do you still
enjoy those cookies hot and fresh straight out of the oven? Or do you say, "Sorry grandma, but these taste just
like the last batch!" I'm all for originality, but I'm not morbidly offended by something a little more routine
as long as it's fun to watch.
Let's face it; we all love watching Harrison Ford, particularly when his character is not too different than the
rest of us, struggle to get out of a sticky situation. No, he's nowhere near as cool as his Star Wars and
Indiana Jones days (I much prefer the self-assured Ford over his current nervous persona), but the man
still knows how to entertain his fans (Hollywood Homicide being a notable exception).
And it helps when he has a worthy adversary who is designed for us to hate. Paul Bettany steps in and fills that
role admirably. Rather than running the clichéd Cheshire cat-pettin' course of generic bad guys, Bettany's
villain takes a more business-like approach to his dastardly deeds. He has a goal, and he'll do what it takes
to reach that goal. He and his hired mercenaries don't hate Ford's family; they just don't care about them.
Believe me; it won't take long before you're eagerly waiting for Ford to open up a can of Ensure Whoop
You-Know-What on these guys. Mission accomplished. Ford may be old, but he still looks like he's as tough as
a cob in the outhouse.
I won't sit here and pretend the movie's perfect. In relation to other Ford thrillers I'd rank it below Air
Force One, The Fugitive, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and What Lies
Beneath. If you want a more recent example then I'd say it's similar to last year's
Hostage though not quite as good.
But Firewall was never meant to cure cancer or feed the homeless. At least I hope it wasn't, otherwise
that's what I'd call a bad bit of budget mismanagement. So rather than setting a lofty goal of saving the world,
it looks to me that its intention is to entertain the audience. Does it maintain a steady degree of
tension? Yep. As a result, did it keep my interest? Yep. You know what that means? I was entertained!
Another goal accomplished! Granted, I thought the whole bit with the dog was a little silly (I won't spoil the
details), but I can let it slide.
You'll also need to be willing to let slide a few implausiblities and plot contrivances. Even director Loncraine
acknowledges "there are points at which you have to take a leap of faith because a procedure is too complex or
unnecessary to depict realistically." That's fine with me. This isn't a film that requires the audience to
perfectly understand the technical details.
I'm just glad Loncraine was determined to avoid what he calls "the fake NASA Control look on computer screens,
where you get the giant flashing 'ABORT' or 'FAILURE' signal that no one really believes." As a computer
programmer I can attest that it's quite annoying when TV shows and movies misuse computer jargon or perform
feats that you know are impossible. Just watch one episode of C.S.I. Miami where a "computer expert" can
take a blurry, nearly unrecognizable picture of a car and use nonexistent software to angle it and then clear it
up and get the license plate number and you'll understand what I mean. Firewall steers clear of such
mind-numbing, head-shaking moments.
Who cares if Grandpa Ford uses a very familiar recipe here? Firewall knows how to effectively use
existing ingredients, and that's ultimately what will send most moviegoers home satisfied. It might not be
a movie you'll be talking about for the next 10 years, but it'll keep you moderately entertained for about 90
minutes. What's wrong with a little comfort food every now and then?
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Before the movie Mr. Shade commented to me that one of the songs on the soundtrack was Great Walls of
Fire. He then chuckled heartily to himself.
- Director Loncraine wanted the opening sequence of the movie (where Cox has the family under surveillance) to
look as authentic as possible. In order to achieve this he used equipment and techniques familiar to real-life
criminals. He also didn't always let the actors know when they would be filmed or who would be filming them.
Virginia Madsen admits this was a little unsettling, "It was strange because I wouldn't know where the camera was
... At one point we were under surveillance after I thought they had cut. We found out later that someone was
walking by us with a little camera pen. It was spooky, really, to think that strangers could be listening and
watching you and your children and you would be completely unaware."
- The day she received her Oscar nomination for Sideways, Madsen was listening to the messages on her
answering machine. After sifting through several messages congratulating her "the very last message was a man
claiming to be Harrison Ford," she says. He wanted to discuss her playing the role of Beth. Thinking this was
a prank, she called the phone number and it took only about 10 seconds to realize it was indeed Harrison
Ford.
- The movie is set in Seattle but filmed in Canada. In order to replicate Seattle's abundance of rain,
280,000 gallons of water were used.
- The original title of the movie was The Wrong Element. Actor Kett Turton jokingly referred to
it as The Long Elephant so the producers changed it to Firewall. Apparently because they don't
have much of a sense of humor.
- "People's belief that their computers are secure is far from the truth," says Harrison Ford. "I think most
people are safe only because they simply don't have things the bad guys want."
- Computer security expert Lawrence T. Levine served as a technical consultant on the film. He is a founder of
SecurePipe, a company that provides information security services to businesses worldwide. He says, "The amount of
cash in a bank is often insignificant compared to what's in the computers, generally no more than one percent. So
if 99 percent is in the computers, and you're talking banks with holdings measured in billions of dollars, then
those computers are a very meaningful target to hackers."
- Ford acknowledges his propensity to take roles in which he plays a character in peril, "I look for genuine
characters in a compelling story. I don't think of them as heroic figures, but as people who find themselves
in particular circumstances and try to prevail."
- Loncraine says his research on electronic larceny proved so thorough that he was asked to back off a
bit.
- Harrison did most of his own stunts during the climactic fight with Paul Bettany. Bettany admits that Ford
was much tougher than he would have thought, "I threw that man through a window seven times and he landed on his
head, got up, rebuilt the window with the crew and then got thrown through it again. I hit that man in the stomach
and he said, 'Could you just land it a bit harder so I could feel it?' So I landed it a bit harder and he wanted a
bit more so he could react to it. Finally, I just wound one up and let loose on him and he said, 'That's it!' It
was the most humiliating day of my life."
- Harrison Ford was in The Fugitive with Joe Pantoliano who was in The Goonies with Josh Brolin
who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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Saying this is rated PG-13 only "for some intense sequences of violence" is a little misleading. There is a bit of
profanity as well - one "f" bomb, several G-d**ns, a couple of middle finger flashes, and quite a few "s" words.
Mama actually attended the screening and afterwards said, "It was pretty good, except for all the bad language."
No sex or nudity though. Unless you count the inch of flesh on Harrison's stomach when he falls down and his shirt
lifts up a little. I doubt you do.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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Feel free to use the trailer as an accurate guide to whether you'd enjoy the movie.
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THE GIST
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If you're a die-hard fan of watching Harrison Ford fight to get out of a bad situation then Firewall
will keep you entertained. However, if you demand absolute originality and go out of your way to find nits
to pick then I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
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