Imagine this movie pitch: Harrison Ford portrays an average working man thrust into danger when his family is taken hostage. Sound familiar? It should, since Ford has played the role so many times he deserves the copyright.
In Richard Loncraine’s Firewall, the 63-year-old actor is up to his old tricks with mediocre results. Ford portrays Jack Ryan – wait, I mean, Jack Stanfield, the head of cyber security for a major bank. At home, he has a devoted wife, Beth (Virginia Madsen, Sideways), and two children. Life is good for Jack until he meets businessman Bill Cox (Paul Bettany, A Beautiful Mind) who turns out to be a criminal mastermind.
Cox and a team of armed thugs hold the Stanfield family hostage until Jack helps them electronically rob the bank he works for. Unbeknownst to the kidnappers, the bank is undergoing a merger and even Jack cannot access the money without bypassing sophisticated anti-theft software. Under constant surveillance by the criminals, Jack must devise a way to hack into the bank’s accounts, save his family and clear his name.
If you enjoy this kind of tired plotline, you will not be disappointed. The movie packs enough guns, computer gadgets and explosions to satisfy most action film fans. Realism, however, is another issue entirely – like when Jack uses his daughter’s iPod to electronically steal millions of dollars. Even some of the movie’s scenery looks fake, leading me to wonder if Loncraine blew the entire budget on Ford’s salary.
Flaws aside, Firewall satisfies as a popcorn movie. The film abandons its potential to be a riveting high-tech caper about the dangers of relying on technology and instead sticks to what it knows: action. It maintains a fairly strong hold on the audience right up until its final moments, which are just plain silly. There is a deus ex machina involving the family dog that is sure to have you chuckling.
One-trick pony Ford is sufficient as Jack Stanfield, but the weariness that comes with age definitely shows. Gone are the wit and charm that made him famous in the days of Han Solo, replaced now with a grumpy old man. As Jack’s wife, Madsen is good but underused. The movie also completely wastes actors Robert Patrick (T-1000, Terminator 2), Alan Arkin (Grosse Pointe Blank) and Robert Forster (Jackie Brown).
The film’s best performance easily comes from Paul Bettany, who nails the charming-but-deadly persona of Cox, an otherwise stock movie villain. This bad guy is not only suave but smarter than the hero, for once. Bettany’s ruthless performance has me hoping there is truth to the rumors he will play the Joker in the next Batman film.
Firewall offers nothing new with Loncraine sticking to a recycled formula that works, if only for a brainless good time at the movie theater. If you saw Air Force One, you have basically seen Firewall. It is neither boring nor heart-pumping. One moment you will gasp and the next you’ll roll your eyes. It’s a film critic’s worst nightmare – it’s neither good nor bad. It’s just there.
There is enough tension and occasional humor to entertain most filmgoers. If you are willing to suspend disbelief for a bit, you can find the fun in Firewall. If not, go rent Raiders of the Lost Ark and reminisce about a time when Ford had no problem taking on Nazis, let alone a few hackers with guns.
The Verdict
Movie: Firewall
Starring: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen
Verdict: You won’t find Indiana Jones or Han Solo in Ford’s performance, but the action is what you would expect.
C+
Contact reporter Heather Seebach at seebachdbk@gmail.com.
