Do you like spectacular action movies?
And what if behind-the-scenes team (production designer, cameraman, special effects co-ordinator) is the same as that for ’’Gone in 60 seconds’’.
Not convinced yet
- What if the producer (Joel Silver) is acclaimed for ’’The Matrix’’ and ’’Face Off’’?
Now I see eyebrows raising
- The star cast is John Travolta (Face Off/Broken Arrow), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine in X Men) and Halle Berry (X Men)...(she has even dared to bare)
Great! Now that you look interested enough, what do you expect from above?
From point 2: A stunning car chase!
From point 3: The 360 degree photography. Most stunning scene, which is beyond my capabilities to describe. See it to believe it!
From point 4: Yet another thriller
So if all of above has made you anxious enough and you are the type who loves action --> go rush to the theatres....HOLD IT! Rate this review first. Others read on...
Welcome to the world of swordfish...no not under the sea! Its a world in the dark alleys of cyberspace that is mysterious and secretive. It’s a world protected not by Tomahawks/Patriots/Scuds/B22 but by firewalls, passwords and advanced security codes...512 bit encryption!!!!
Please pay attention to the dialogues in first 3 minutes of the film where Gabriel (John Travolta) is portrayed as film director and is discussing a film with Don Cheadle (’’Traffic’’ fame) in a coffee shop. The film ending is just what John mentions to them.
When John gets up and leaves...he faces several soldiers pointing gun at him and all of us (the audience) are caught by surprise. When we crane our necks, rub or eyes...we realize that we are in middle of a bank robbery.
Gabriel is a super spy, he is the swordfish -- probably so called because its difficult to trap a swordfish using nets. He is smart guy with flamboyant lifestyle and yet dangerous in the eye of FBI. He anticipates the moves of the opponent. he had anticipated this move too and is prepared by holding hostages all wrapped by C4 explosives.
In the next scene, a C4 wrapped around a lady explodes when the SWAT team tries to save her. This one is a cinematic achievement. It’s a bomb explosion you haven’t seen before in any movie. It’s actually like being 3 ft away from the explosion. It’s a 360 degree view of explosion that starts from the road, then as seen from coffee shop, road again, from the bank and back to original spot covering glass shattering, cars toppling, people flying.... AMAZING!!!! Just for details - the crew placed 188 cameras side-by-side covering an area of 600 ft, which the computer controlled cameras covers in 2.5 seconds...in 50+ shoots.
From then on there is a flashback sequence. The movie is about some dubious people in government making money and of Drug Enforcement Agency money laundering scheme. Gabriel and his team of patriotic people (spies) wants to steal this illegal money to finance their own operations, aimed at protecting freedom of America by handling international terrorism. This means he has to crack the security system codes and needs a hacker.
Picture in Stanley (Jackman) who is living as a recluse, since he is forbidden by law to enter LA or any electronic store. Why? Cause he is topmost hacker who had broke into FBI’s controversial hi-tech cyber surveillance operation.
So Gabriel sends Ginger (Halle Berry) to hire this guy for the job. She spots his weakness - need for money and to settle a life with his daughter Holly, who the court had ordered to stay away from him (and with her mom -an alcoholic lady now married to a porn king). So he takes up the job and wants to break free, but gets entangled in the process. The audience is hooked on to Stanley and we see the movie as Stanley sees it. He and we get to think that Gabriel is a ruthless murderer, maniac-a terrorist! The truth unravels slowly through the story till the end when both Stanley and we the audience are left confused? Who was right guy? or Who was the bad guy? Relate this ending to the ending that John Travolta is discussing in the first minutes of the firm as a film director. ’’Its not necessary that good guy beats bad guy’’ or ’’bad guy dies at the end’’ or ’’happy ending’’ - dialogues from first scene.
There are great scenes
1.The bomb explosion
2.The car chase
3.The helicopter lifting the bus scene
4.Halle Berry in undergarments (for Indian theatres...bare elsewhere)
5.Girls by swimming pool
6.Stanley hacking his first code for Gabriel at gunpoint and under the table activity.
Here is reference to context:
(i) ’’Isn’t she good?’’ - John during scene 6 mentioned above
(ii) ’’No Sir, the bus is not on the 1st street. The bus is airborne’’ - A police officer in scene 3
(iii) ’’I am D.E.A.’’ - Halle Berry in scene 4
(iv) ’’Nothing is impossible’’ - Jackman after completing his worm program for Gabriel.
For photographs on behind-the-scene units for bomb explosion scene, music, movie clips and graphics (QuickTime *.mov format) visit https://operationswordfish.com. It’s a flash wonder.
For those visiting sterling, the password for contest held by hungama.com is OPERATION SWORDFISH. Happy Gaming!
Happy Hacking!