Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Movie review: Firewall

Jack has built a great life as a bank security consultant, protecting the bank and his life behind a firewall he has built. But when criminals abduct his family he is forced to circumvent his own security protections and rob the bank he is protecting.

Harrison Ford (Jack), Virginia Madsen (Beth), Carly Schroeder (Sarah), Jimmy Bennett (Andy), Paul Bettany (Bill), David Lewis (Rich), Zahf Paroo (Ravi), Robert Forster (Harry), Robert Patrick (Gary), Alan Arkin (Arlin).

Firewall begins with some nice backstory and character development before moving to the main plot. Once the criminals show up and abduct Jack's family, the action and suspense begin to build fast as Jack watches his life fall apart. It seems no matter what Jack tries, the bad guys are a step ahead. On the run from just about everyone, and with nothing to lose, Jack begins to fight back and the film intensity increases nicely. The story wraps up with a Happily Ever After ending that, after all the intense action and suspense, is almost a non-event.

Acting was good with Ford doing nicely as a corporate action hero. Madsen was a nice choice and seemed to work well with Ford. Bettany made a good criminal, and also seemed to have good chemistry with others. Forster and Patrick were both in-type and fit their roles well.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were enjoyable with a nice authentic feel throughout. Natural scenery and locations were used well. Action scenes were pretty good with a realistic feel and good detail. Dialogue was solid and moved the story along well. Sound and soundtrack were a bit better than usual.

While Firewall is 10 years old, and the storyline is hardly original, this one is still worth watching. The experienced cast does a good job and technical work is on par for a big budget film. If you enjoy solid suspense or thrillers, you should enjoy Firewall.

With plenty of violence, some blood and gore, blender abuse, foul language and potentially disturbing scenes, this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2006
Reviewed: 7.11.16
Star rating: 4 out of 5
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Action, Suspense, Crime Thriller

copyright ©2016 Dave Riedel

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