HAYWIRE: Film Review
by Brian Woodman Jr. on 09/08/12
The film HAYWIRE, which stars former Strikeforce and Elite XC MMA fighter Gina Carano, was treated as a revelation when it came out earlier this year. It stars an MMA fighter and doesn't suck! Although it is an enjoyable film and a diverting throwback to 70s's or early 80's spy films like THE AMATUER, it is still underwhelming in some respects.
To appreciate some of the attention the film received, one needs to understand that it is usually the kiss of death for a film to feature an MMA fighter as the star. Sad, but true.
Check out films like NEVER SURRENDER or CONFESSIONS OF A PIT FIGHTER; better yet, don't! They are almost always the usual direct-to-video drudge with badly choreographed fights, gratuitous nudity and hackneyed plots involving illegal bare knuckle fights. The occasional attempt at a good film involving the sport, such as REDBELT or WARRIOR, is a rarity and it would appear that the quintessential sports flick on the subject has yet to be made.
HAYWIRE wisely operates in a different genre, in this case the espionage picture, but integrates MMA moves into the excellent action scenes. Look for lots of elbows, knees and submission holds to be mixed in with the gun play and car chases.
The plot features Carano as Mallory Kane, who is the top employee for a private sector firm that performs covert operations for governmental agencies. She is betrayed following her rescue of a Chinese dissident and hunted as a fugitive. The loyalties of several of the film's chracters, including Kane, emerge as multi-layered.
Carano acquits herself well considering that she is essentially a non-actress. She has presence and maintains screen chemistry with her co-stars. Her athleticism and fighting skills are the film's anchor, but director Steven Soderbergh gives the action scenes room to breathe; he isn't afraid to use stylistic flourishes (his zen-like directing style is an acquired taste and at times intrusive) and tries to develop an actual story story rather than cater to viewers expecting non-stop violence. Carano's natural beauty is also used without seeming exploitive.
The film's plot, while entertaining, holds few surprises for serious genre afficianados. It's the usual set of double-crosses that can be found in the grittier spy flicks that try to contrast the more glamorized "spy-fi" approach used in the James Bond series. The idea of a private agency working for the government in a covert role and becoming compromised by traitors was more effectively used in the 70's version of THE KILLER ELITE (itself a film with good martial arts sequences).
It also has an overqualified supporting cast (Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, Ewan MacGregor, Michael Fassbinder) that is of limited use to it in the greater scheme of things. Seasoned spy movie fans will easily determine which characters emerge as villians.
Michael Angarano as an ordinary shmuck drawn into Kane's world is engaging but barely used. A romance between these characters, while an obvious touch, could have proven amusing.
Bill Paxton is interesting as Kane's father, but little is made of their relationship other than hints of the toll that her work may have taken on it.
HAYWIRE, while competently constructed, is more specifically for admirers of Carano or those curious about the film's novelty casting than for jaded action fans. The film's scattered fight scenes are its strongest aspect.
