Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fight-filled adventure centers on female action hero.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Haywire
What's the Story?
Mallory (Gina Carano) is a super-cool secret agent with impeccable mixed martial arts fighting skills. After finishing up a job in Barcelona freeing a hostage, she looks forward to relaxing a bit. Unfortunately, her employer (Ewan McGregor) has an emergency: an easy two-day job in which Mallory must pose as the partner of agent Paul (Michael Fassbender). It's not long before Mallory realizes that the whole thing is a setup designed to get her out of the way. Now, escaping in a borrowed car with a civilian (Michael Angarano), she has only one chance to clear up the loose ends and set things right.
Is It Any Good?
HAYWIRE is a pared-down, almost simplistic action movie. Director Steven Soderbergh has a wide-ranging filmography, though it can be argued that his "fun" entries (Out of Sight, Ocean's Eleven, etc.), are overall better than his "serious" movies. This one is mostly designed to showcase the beauty and power of Soderbergh's new star, female mixed martial arts fighter Carano.
Haywire features many fine, recognizable actors in small roles; their dialogue is spare and never divulges too much information or panders to the audience. (That said, the story itself is a fairly old one in this genre, and aside from the fact that Haywire is told in a non-linear fashion, it doesn't have much to add.) Soderbergh presents the fight scenes cleanly and simply, often without a music score, though he uses a funky brass score for chase scenes. However, in stripping away the fat, Soderbergh has also taken away some of the movie's emotional content; though it's a thrilling experience, it's also a somewhat surface one.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Haywire's violence. How necessary was it to include dead bodies? Could the story have worked without the killings?
When Carano fights, is it violent and ugly, or graceful and beautiful? Or both? Do you consider her a role model?
What's the difference between getting revenge and setting things right? Do the ends ever justify the means?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 20, 2012
- On DVD or streaming : May 1, 2012
- Cast : Ewan McGregor , Gina Carano , Michael Fassbender
- Director : Steven Soderbergh
- Studio : Relativity Media
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some violence
- Last updated : July 28, 2022
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