Haywire

Steven Soderbergh - you are forgiven. After The Girlfriend Experience starring porn star turned wannabe actress, Sasha Grey, I didn’t think I would ever watch another Soderbergh film. Although visually stunning thanks to impressive cinematography, the heinous “acting” of Grey left me cold. Then came Contagion, a rehash of a rehash of a rehash just with bigger names than the prior rehashes. And I was saddened wondering where was the Steven Soderbergh of old? The Soderbergh who gave us the fun, thrill and intrigue of the Ocean’s trilogy, the mesmerizing Solaris, the power (albeit slightly untruthful) of Erin Brokovich or the cutting edge voyeuristic thrill of sex, lies and videotape. Thankfully, the “real” Steven Soderbergh is back with guns a blazin’ with HAYWIRE - a film I affectionately and truthfully refer to as Oceans Fourteen. With one of the hottest casts to grace the silver screen since, well, Oceans Thirteen, Soderbergh brings together the hottest and best of the best with McGregor, Fassbender, Banderas, Tatum, Paxton and Douglas, along with newcomer and MMA superstar, Gina Carano, for a mind-blowing trip around the world filled with espionage, intrigue, a fantastic score, hot looking guys and one kick ass heroine, not to mention, a perfect set-up for a sequel. HAYWIRE kicks ass - literally and figuratively.

Once a Marine, always a Marine and Mallory Kane is no different. A former black ops Devil dog, on leaving the corp Mallory Kane turned to a life she could easily embrace - that working for a private government contractor hired to perform clandestine dirty missions around the world, all under the guise of insuring the security of the United States and democracy. Her boss, Kenneth, answers to government man Coblenz who works with Spanish businessman Rodrigo as a facilitator or liaison. (Got all that?) Partnering with her on the latest mission is fellow operative Aaron. But after completing her latest mission freeing a Chinese journalist held in Barcelona, tables turn and Mallory suddenly finds herself a target. But whose?

Is it Kenneth? Former lovers, Mallory has snubbed him not only in the bedroom but also professionally as she aims to leave his company and go out on her own. And without Mallory, Kenneth’s company is worthless. Or is it Coblenz? Does she know so much that the government wants her to disappear? What about Rodrigo? Knowing little about him, his own dealings or associations, did Mallory unwittingly stumble onto something he is hiding? Or is it accomplices of unidentified third persons she has taken down or taken out? Or is this a perfect stranger?

After telling Kenneth she is “out” after the Barcelona job, Mallory relents and agrees to one more mission. A piece of cake. She gets to be girly and gorgeous in Ireland playing wife to MI6 operative Paul. But what happens when that simple little mission opens a new can of worms with Mallory finding the dead body of the Chinese journalist she just rescued, the appearance of former opponents who know her as someone else, and the gorgeous sexy Paul tries to get more than physical at the end of the night?

For those of you who know Gina Carano from the world of MMA, you are in for a real treat. For those of you unfamiliar with her already notable athletic talents, get ready to be blown away. In her first acting role, as Mallory Kane, Carano is perfectly cast. A character that requires calm, mental and physical strength and ingenuity, Carano employs those very skills necessary to her success in MMA. And given the nature of Mallory, the role is light on dialogue which allowed Carano to concentrate on the intense physicality of the role. Never even having to audition for Soderbergh, Carano opines that “my physicality is the whole reason why I got the job in the first place. I’ve grown up a tomboy and I’ll probably never stop being that way. I fight like a guy a little bit, and I run like a guy. I enjoy being physical. I enjoy expressing myself that way.” But despite her physical abilities, HAYWIRE needed more than MMA tactics. After getting up at 5AM, Carano did “three hours of stunts, and I did three hours of secret service training. . . After that I went to strength and conditioning. There wasn’t any acting training until probably the week before [shooting]. . .Then finally the week before, they were like, ‘Alright let’s try reading some lines with this acting coach.’” Carano also had to learn to ride a motorcycle and overcome her fear of heights for grappling through the rooftop chases in Ireland. By film’s end, one believes with ever fiber of their being that Gina Carano IS Mallory Kane. And you want to see more, a lot more.

Two of the hottest and sexiest guys on the planet, Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender, step in as Kenneth and Paul. While both are mysterious, McGregor gives Kenneth a very affable quality while Fassbender’s Paul has a polish and unspoken darkness to him. Antonio Banderas has you doing a double take with two completely different looks - one bearded as a mature distinguished looking businessman and the other, clean shaven, bare chested, tanned and gorgeous, exuding slick mystery at every turn. Channing Tatum brings a youthful vigor and brashness to Aaron, but laces him with a bit of naivete that is disarmingly charming. A real joy for me is watching Michael Angarano’s Scott. A pivotal character critical to the film as a storytelling tool, Angarano has a deer-in-headlights exuberance that not only begs for more screen time but is left wide open within Mallory Kane’s story so as to be the perfect entre for a sequel. And of course, there’s Bill Paxton and Michael Douglas. Paxton, as Mallory’s father, is another character who begs for more story. A former Marine like his daughter, there is an unspoken and coded language between the two characters that creates its own dynamic, one that Paxton propels with deadpan believability. As for Michael Douglas’ Coblenz, another multi-layered performance that keeps you guessing and asking questions.

Constructing the story around Carano’s Mallory and telling it primarily from her point of view is what makes the story itself work. Written by Lem Dobbs, as with the Ocean’s trilogy, much of the story is told in flashback. Opening with a dynamic scene in a little diner up in the Rockies, we first meet Mallory as she sits alone, bruised and cut, sipping a cup of coffee. But that solace quickly ends as the action kicks into high gear with Tatum’s Aaron bursting in to “capture her”, spurring an intense fight that drags Michael Angarano’s seemingly innocent Scott into the mix not only jumping into the fray, but serving as a getaway assist for Carano’s Mallory. And while Mallory speeds away from the scene, she regales the events leading up to the diner, instructing Scott to “memorize” the names, places and sequencing. As Angarano’s Scott sits mouth agape, so do we, similarly swept into the mystery and excitement. Already breathless just watching this sequence, the story and accompanying visuals just ramp it up from there.

HAYWIRE, however, isn’t all action and intrigue. There’s a lot of wry wit interspersed throughout the dialogue, much which comes in the form of perfectly executed one liners from Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas, both of whom have pitch perfect timing with their delivery.

Where HAYWIRE truly excels though is in the technical mastery of its actors performing their own stunt work and fight sequencing compounded with Soderbergh’s superb lensing (he is his own cinematographer). This isn’t a film with harnesses, poorly cast doubles or weak paltry punches. This is no holds barred, woman on man, hand-to-hand combat film showcasing the athleticism and skill of newcomer Gina Carano, the physical and emotional talents of seasoned veterans like Fassbender, McGregor and Banderas, while celebrating the intellectual prowess and intrigue of a great story, great characters and flawless editing.

But the real celebration is with the action. Calling on the expertise of stunt coordinator R.A. Rondell and the technical prowess of former Israeli counter-terrorist Aaron Cohen, the fights are real, tactics authentic. Adding to the adrenalin rush are Soderbergh’s extended scenes which were shot continuously so we get the specific sensory experience of running, jumping, leaping tall buildings in a single bound. Editing is crisp and sharp but minimal. The physicality sets the pace and tone, something that many directors often ignore, and that in and of itself, compounded with some breathtaking camera angles, leaves one breathless and blinking in disbelief as an audience member. It’s that much of a jet-fueled, E-ticket ride. As Carano describes it, her co-stars, McGregor, Tatum and Fassbender “ wanted to do everything. From the smallest things even off-camera, which I don’t know if that’s normal or not, but off-camera to on-camera, I showed up with the stunt crew and we coordinated the fights together.”

For the fight between Carano and McGregor (one for which McGregor may have wished he had a light saber in his hand), “we learned our fight scene in two days. . .It was a long fight scene, and then we put it on sand and in the water, and added all those crazy elements to it. But they wanted to do everything, so I think that Soderbergh did a wonderful job at surrounding us with the best people he could in a film.” McGregor has nothing but accolades for Carano. “ She’s so precise. I really felt there was never an issue or a worry to get hurt. The only time I did get hurt was when I accidentally punched Gina in the head. . .I watched her do some of the fight scenes in New Mexico with stuntmen. They would do a take, and at the end of the take Steven would say, ‘Cut,’ and the stuntmen, not her, were just destroyed. They would be sweating, and Gina would be like, ‘Right? Ready for another take?’”

One of the most talked about fight sequences is that between Carano and Fassbender which happened to be the first fight scene shot. According to Carano (and as I know from Fassbender’s prior work on Centurion), “Fassbender’s crazy. He loves that shit. He had no problem slamming me into anything. Actually Steven Soderbergh told him once, ‘We need to get this shot better, when you slam her head into the wall,’ and I was like, ‘Damn that things not soft you know?’ But, Soderbergh’s behind the camera, and he’s being very mischievous, like he wants something bad to happen. I slam a vase in [Fassbender’s] face, so I’m supposed to throw the vase past him just for that take, because we just want to get my head slamming into the wall. We’re going for it. He slammed my head so hard into the wall that I kind of lost it for a second, and I slammed the vase right into Fassbender’s face.” During that same sequencing, Carano has Fassbender in a thigh vice grip, which looks so realistic that Fassebender’s face is not only beet red, but veins are bulging. Playing it down, Fassbender assures that the grip was “Not as tight as it looks on my face. . .It was tight enough but I did sort of rush blood into my face to make it look like I was really [choking].”

The final cohesive knot in HAYWIRE comes from composer David Holmes. The man behind the music in the Ocean’s trilogy, Holmes give us that same vibe and energy in HAYWIRE, complimenting the intelligence and action unfolding on screen. I have to say, this is already on my list as a fave score for 2012.

Ladies and gentlemen. Meet the female answer to Jason Statham. Gina Carano is here to stay.And hopefully, so is a HAYWIRE franchise! Intelligent. Action-packed. Kick ass. Fun. You are gonna go haywire for HAYWIRE.