Haywire

When it comes to genre-hopping, difficult-to-classify film-makers, Stephen Soderbergh is easily one of the most well-known. From the cheap-and-dirty everyday reality of sex, lies and videotape to the polished high-Hollywood gloss of the Ocean's series, from the dark and gritty drug-fuelled hopelessness of Traffic to the almost sci-fi-esque crumbling decay of Contagion, Soderbergh is one of those rare talents that flits from genre-to-genre, project-to-project with general ease, albeit amid somewhat-mixed results. There is, however, one genre Soderbergh's never really touched, until now: the straight-up action thriller. Haywire changes that, and, like many of Soderbergh's occasional experiments, sometimes succeeds, and sometimes doesn't.

The film was deliberately built as a vehicle for drop-dead-gorgeous Womens Mixed Martial Artist Gina Carano, a woman of both dangerous lethality and natural charm, but who is also, unfortunately, not an actress. She is both the film's greatest asset, and it's biggest weakness, and whilst Soderbergh's intent to create for her the female equivalent of a John Rambo or Jason Bourne is admirable, it doesn't entirely work. Thankfully, Soderbergh's impressive roll-a-dex of Hollywood contacts comes in handy in surrounding Carano with A-list talent to help distract from the fact that this isn't a movie made for an actress, but a female killing machine.

Carano plays Mallory Kane, a private ops specialist - think Blackgate - who works for a mercenary firm run by Kenneth (Ewan McGregor, suitably slimy). After a hostage rescue in Barcelona, she's sent to Dublin to act as the pretend wife of MI5 agent Paul (Michael Fassbender, too brief and under-utilized). Before you can say "contrived revenge scenario", she's been set-up by Kenneth and finds herself in all-too-familiar situation (say it with me now): on the run and trying to discover the truth.

Of course, the story is really just a thinly-veiled excuse to watch Carano kick all kinds of ass, which she does superbly. There is something refreshing about watching a woman realistically beating the hell out of people onscreen, not just in a technical sense, but also because Carano very definitely isn't your usual twiggy, petite-figured action girl: that's 140 pounds of pure muscle, toned and honed to perfection, and there's no doubt in your mind watching the film that she could kill you in a heartbeat in real life.

The fight scenes are very well-handled, all put together with no music, but they're also very brief, leaving you hungry for more. The superb supporting cast, including Michael Douglas as a government big-wig, Antonio Banderas as a shady organizer, Channing Tatum as one of Mallory's fellow agents, and Bill Paxton as her dad, are all given very little to do, apart from spout the odd piece of exposition and marvel at how lethal Mallory is. Of course, we don't really need to be told that, as the film opens with a great fight scene between Carano and Tatum that effectively demonstrates that this is a woman to be reckoned with.

The convoluted and non-linear script by Lem Dobbs begins to add some intriguing layers, but just as things get interesting, another action scene is shoe-horned in, making the audience forget the story unfolding. Soderbergh also decides to give the film a full-blown Ocean's-style score, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does distract from the grittiness the director is shooting for. Added to that is the fact that, like many thinly-drawn action heroes, the character of Mallory is given very little development, and even less time to win audience sympathy - we find ourselves rooting for her simply because we know that she's the heroine, but there's no emotional investment, and the blandness of the character is exacerbated by Carano's limited range. My biggest gripe is that, because the character is so underwritten and uninteresting, Carano's real-life charisma and charm is given no chance to shine through; if it were, I'd probably end up more fully in her corner.

Despite it's problems, Haywire isn't a terrible film by any means (and at a lean 93 minutes, it's brisk pacing helps move things along nicely), but considering the man behind the lens, it's easy to expect much more. Carano is definitely a physical talent to watch out for, and I hope she does do more films after this, as she's more than capable of standing alongside the Vin Diesels and Jason Stathams of the action world, and time will probably see her acting ability improve. This is ultimately a forgettable little joy-ride, fairly fun whilst you're on it, but leaving no real lasting impression. One hopes the next director to use Carano is able to craft a film truly worthy of both her talents and audience attention.

Rating: 3/5