Haywire

Steven Soderbergh is a director who is difficult to pin down to one genre. Sometimes he presents pure popcorn cinema (Ocean`s Eleven), then again sophisticated thriller fare (Traffic), ambitious science fiction cinema (Solaris) or most recently an apocalyptic thriller about a dangerous virus (Contagion). And also with his latest work Haywire Soderbergh can surprise again, he presents here but astreines Actionkino, which in many respects defies the usual viewing habits of genre fans.

In the center of the action is special-ops agent Mallory Kane (Gina Carrano), for whom life-threatening situations are part of everyday life. Covert, not always legal operations for various governments sent the attractive as powerful woman repeatedly on dangerous missions around the globe. But after one of these missions doesn't quite go according to plan, Mallory suddenly finds herself facing her most dangerous adversary: her own employer. Now the huntress has become the hunted, who henceforth finds herself on a merciless vendetta against all those who betrayed her in order to save her own skin...

When Soderbergh saw multiple mixed martial arts champion Gina Carrano on television, he was so taken with her fighting style and charisma that he had to write a movie for her. And once again, the filmmaker was not fooled by his intuition. Not only does Carrano score with top-notch fight sequences in Haywire. The lady also knows how to convince in terms of acting. And that's the real surprise, as she manages not to be upstaged by her prominent co-stars like Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum or Michael Fassbender.

However, even if Carrano can also please in the dramaturgically meatier scenes, the fight scenes are the main focus of interest. And these are both the film's strength and weakness. The very realistic staging of these scenes, which often don't need the usual sound effects or great background music, is on the one hand fascinating and simply something different. The duel between Mallory and Paul (Michael Fassbender) is certainly one of the most intense moments of the film. But in the long run the fights also seem a bit tiring. A little more story or a little more humor would certainly not have hurt the film.

However, scenes like Mallory's escape from Dublin make up for some of the punchy hangs and dramaturgical holes. Haywire is a revenge thriller that actually features non-stop action. Yet somehow the whole thing feels much calmer and more unexciting than comparable works such as the Bourne films. There are no loud explosions, no loud gunfights or brawls accompanied by cool sayings. And that's exactly what could make Haywire seem kind of boring to some genre fans, despite the constant fights and car chases. However, if you're hoping for some variety in action thrillers and want to experience a leading lady who is not only attractive but also cuts a really good figure when fighting, you shouldn't miss this somewhat ordinary but definitely exciting and entertaining film that could almost be called arthouse action. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp