Firewall

I didn’t get to see the end of this (I hope it all worked out ok). The bus arrived at its destination and I had to get off. Paul Bettany’s acting was a little weird and Harrison Ford wasn’t especially impressive (and he looks dumb with that laptop). Otherwise, this is a pretty standard thriller. (13.05.2008)

Exactly the same thing you have seen a thousand and one different ways somewhere else. And at least eight hundred of them were much better. I admit that I expected a comic pastiche unworthy of Harrison Ford. Although it is undoubtedly unworthy of him, it’s not so comical. Unfortunately. Here only one word applies: boring. The first “technical" half is a tired load of nothing, so the unremarkable, average “action" part at the end is a welcome relief as it turns out. A thriller that nobody will enthuse about and that will even insult a couple of people, but as a background for doing something else to I can recommend it. (05.02.2008)

Harrison Ford still has it, there is no doubt about that, I don't see a problem with another Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, Firewall is nothing but a routine genre stew that strongly resembles Hostage with Bruce Willis, except it is not nearly as dark and Ford is not nearly as badass as Bruce. His clean-cut dad didn't convince me too much, but the second half is much better, that's good-old Ford as we know him from Air Force One and the Ryan films, and nothing suits him more than a bloody face and trembling body. The conclusion is truly the only gripping moment of the film, and the final fight scene is impressive. Unfortunately, there isn't much more, Paul Bettany is bland and the banking machinations themselves are hardly understandable for an average viewer, without a single hint of explanation, a helping hand, not even a tap – and I strongly doubt it works like this in reality. A confusing and overall below-average thing. (06.03.2007)

A painless enema with Harrison Ford, who in the next Indiana Jones will fight with a nurse in a nursing home for not emptying his bedpan... (14.09.2006)

Harrison Ford is the exemplary and wealthy head of a “perfect family”, which he must now fight for… This American thriller promises more than it delivers. The first half is very routine, dull and drawn-out. The second half gains dynamism with the arrival of a twist stolen from a Mel Gibson thriller that shall not be named and alternates between good scenes and clichéd filler. Harrison plays Harrison, while Paul Bettany’s bad guy is surprisingly one-dimensional. The other characters are just makeweights. Overall, this is a relatively entertaining, occasionally suspenseful and sometimes unintentionally comical genre flick. Personally, I enjoyed the old car and the sunny rural locations in the final sequence, which brought both a warm nostalgic memory of Hitchcock’s adventures and a pleasant contrast with the preceding high-tech (blue filter) visuals. You simply can’t condemn Firewall for that last shot. :-) (22.02.2006)