Haywire (2011)

Undescribable Perfection

How sad is this?

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

The first must-see film of the year.

This movie is one of the biggest surprises. I was interested it as soon as it was made public that Gina Carano would star in it. I have been a Carano fans since her days in StrikeForce and wanted to see if she can make a successful transition to the movies, and not fall flat like so many other martial artists before her. Although I knew Soderbergh directed this one, I didn't think much of it, was simply hoping for a spy thriller with decent martial arts action. And then I read the reviews and saw the somewhat low rating and didn't really give it a shot. So 6 years have passed and I finally got to watching it, and boy, was I wrong to initially dismiss it. It might not have been in the vein as the Bourne movies, James Bond or almost any modern spy- covert ops movie, but the difference between most of those and Haywire is that Haywire looks stunningly authentic. The action scenes, especially the close quarters hand-to-hand combat is phenomenal. I knew Gina was chosen because of her MMA prowess, but she exceeds every expectation. All fight scenes are beautifully choreographed and make for an exciting experience. The other actors have done no less and tried to do as good as Gina, and it's visible.I fully enjoyed how Soderbergh presents a great number of longs shots without any background music, only small clicks and sounds straight from the environment, which further hypes the situation. I don't think I have ever seen a movie like this, that tries to create an atmosphere without bombastic music and sound effects, instead it just lets you watch the action and immerses you into it with great camera work, great storytelling and wonderful pacing. Watching this makes you present in the whole endeavor and the struggles of the protagonist. It seems shockingly authentic the entire time, which makes it really fascinating.I would recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy a good movie, with a good premise and very stylized execution. I wasn't really aware this was a Soderbergh movie until the second long shot. His directing is really appropriate for this kind of movie. The supporting cast consists of Hollywood A-listers who can act and fight, which is a short list, but one that shines throughout the movie. Definitely worth a watch or two.

I really liked this movie. The story is very straightforward. Carano plays a hired operative who gets double crossed and has to find out how and why. Simple. It reminds me of Soderbergh's Oceans 11 in that it is well paced, well shot, and not over the top. Other reviewers compared it to Salt and the Bourne series. That's a huge misrepresentation. Those movies are over the top yawn fests. This movie has better dialogue, a better soundtrack, and a great supporting cast, including Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, and Evan Macgregor. Carano holds her own and fits the part perfectly. Yes, she kicks a lot of ass, but she doesn't seem invincible. More determined, like Liam Neeson from the first Taken film. At a brisk 1:30 hours this film never overstays its welcome. It never tries to do too much - no giant explosions or lengthy car chases, and no overindulgent quick-edits. Soderbergh keeps it simple and that's the beauty of this movie.

After watching Deadpool I remembered that I didn't watch this movie, Gina Carano action vehicle from 2011. Now that I have done that I have some questions.First one - how did this got made in the first place? I find it insane that Soderbergh cast Gina Carano as a goddamn lead in this and then cast all star acting crew around her. I mean, supporting actors here are Tatum, Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Banderas, Michael Douglas, etc.Don't get me wrong, stunt casting is sometimes interesting and I generally like Carano in Deadpool but she is so flatfaced and not good in this. Yeah, fights are cool, but you don't get that star cast just to support someone who is a noob actor like her. It's confusing and kinda boring movie, which is even more perplexing given the great supporting cast. Story is not that good as well and photography is somewhat average with completely uninteresting shots and frames. Weird-but-not-that-bad movie this Haywire is. Can't recommend it though, except if you want to see how odd it is.

First, i really liked the fighting scenes, they came without needles cuts and were well executed. Also, the first girl that runs like a man, or just how it should look when someone runs properly.... but the rest is so bad. Gina, although I like her, can't act at all. She acts like a beautiful mummy. No face expression that matches the scenes well.The casting was awful too. It really looked like some top acts try to act like some B-Movie actors.... looked wired. McGregor is to big a Star as could he plausible play such a looser running away from a "girl". You could read in all of those faces "When do I get my money...?".Storyline is so meh. James Bond type hero gets betrayed by his bosses and starts a revenge. Must be the first Movie of this kind ^^.And who did the light? Or was that absolute horrid stage lighting made on purpose, so you only saw her face half of the time in the hole movie? No thrill at all, literally hours of running and chasing and you never get these goosebumps, cause you wont fear something could happen to the main cast.This movie purpose is only to grab your money.