Relativity Media
93 min., dir. by Steven Soderbergh, with Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Fassbender

Do people remember that Steven Soderbergh was the father of modern American independent film making? Still producing indie style films, the mainstream flocks around his George Clooney and Matt Damon vehicles. Combining the more stylish mystery/thriller aspect of his second (and highly underrated) film Kafka with the cool/slick demeanor of his numbered Ocean’s films, Soderbergh delivers the high end action film in Haywire. Purely a popcorn film, Haywire is an interesting experiment that works, though still gets a little lost in the popularized Soderbergh heist formula.

Mallory (Gina Carano) is an elite combat specialist. She is an integral member of a private military/specialist contract team — think of her as the female James Bond for hire (though she probably could take any Bond in hand-to-hand combat). For reasons untold, Mallory is getting out of the game; unfortunately, her final job is not what she thought it was. Treated as a fugitive by everyone — including those she worked with — Mallory’s new mission is to clear her name and find out who wants her dead.

The premise is fairly typical, if not completely burnt out. Haywire isn’t trying to thrill you with a story — you can probably figure out the entire plot in the first 20 minutes. Instead, Soderbergh set out to do two things: present typical action scenarios in a more stylish and arguably realistic manner, and have female MMA fighter Gina Carano kick the shit out of famous male leads. Fight scenes are devoid of any music, leaving heavy panting and combat contact as the only audio to focus on. Shot in longer takes and with less cuts, the action displays its choreography a bit more, but no more than most kung fu films. Haywire proves that adrenaline-pumping, fast-paced shooting and sound work are not needed to provide a heart-pounding experience. He takes the excitement and technical prowess out of the MMA cage and places it in real world atmosphere — and succeeds.

It’s the downtime between the action where Haywire loses traction. With mirror images of the Ocean’s films, the experience feels so familiar that one has to wonder if Soderbergh is beginning to lose himself in his most popular creation. Nothing in Haywire points to signs of failure, but it certainly does seem to purposely remind you of something else you may have liked.

Following his past attempts to use nontraditional film stars as his leads (porn actress Sasha Grey in The Girlfriend Experience, or the litany of comedians who play most every lawyer in The Informant!), Soderbergh built this film around Gina Carano after seeing one of her fights. Carano puts up a worthwhile performance, though in many scenes you can feel her trying too hard. It’s the right move to make though, as it wouldn’t feel believable to see any big time actress choking out Michael Fassbender with her thighs.

With another stellar cast that includes Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, and even a tolerable Channing Tatum, the biggest treat to me was Ewan McGregor. Thinking back on his career, I can’t recall too many McGregor roles where he plays an American. Maybe I’m just so used to hearing his native accent that the slight Midwestern twang in his voice struck me as utterly brilliant.

In a world dominated by fast-cut, blood-spurting, tough guy action films, Haywire has its place. The sheer beauty of its fisticuffs is enough to draw the viewer in; however, it won’t change the way future Hollywood beat-em-ups are made. Despite the noticeable Ocean’s comparisons and the heavy-handed attempts to be different, Haywire provides and enjoyable ride of pretty boys getting humiliated.

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Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and also the contributing film writer for IPaintMyMind.