Swordfish

Misdirection. What the eyes see, and the ears hear, the mind believes.
Swordfish has in my opinion one of the best openings to a movie I have ever seen. The writing here is so superb, I think it should have been worthy of an Oscar nomination for John Travolta just for this scene alone. It introduces the character of Gabriel played by Travolta. At first you don’t really know what is going on just that Gabriel is here starting to talk about Hollywood movies. As the dialogue progresses you begin to hear Gabriel discussing his distaste for movies lack of realism. He then moves into discussing the movie Dog Day Afternoon. And what would happen if Pacino really wanted to get away with the money he stole from the bank in the movie. Gabriel talks about what if Pacino started killing hostages left and right. How long would it take for the city to reverse is policies on hostage negotiation. It is then revealed that Gabriel has taken hostages and is in the middle of a bank heist of his own. Not to give too much more away for people who haven’t seen Swordfish but the beginning ends with an amazing explosion that will rock your home theater system into overdrive along with some amazing visual photography.The character of Gabriel is my favorite Travolta performance of all-time. He plays a character who is always many steps ahead of everyone else in the entire movie. Until the ending you never really know who Gabriel really is, only that he is a bad guy. And he’s a bad guy you really like. You are always left guessing at what the motive is behind all of his actions, but he goes on to talk much about misdirection. Throughout the entire movie this is always a reoccurring theme to keep you guessing at what happens next.The rest of the cast is absolutely perfect. Hugh Jackman plays the part of Stanley Jobson who is an computer hacker who no longer is allowed anywhere near a computer and is living in a trailer working a dead-end job. Halle Berry plays the roll of Ginger, who like Gabriel, as the movie goes on you never are too sure of who she really is. All that you are lead to know is that she is with Gabriel and her job is to bring Stanley in because Gabriel wants his computer skills for a job he needs done. Don Cheadle plays the role of J.T. Roberts who worked for the FBI and was the man who arrested Stanley and is the reason he is no longer allowed near a computer. Also following Stanley’s arrest, Stanley lost custody of his daughter thanks to Roberts. Roberts now is now on the trail of Gabriel and the one trying to put together what Gabriel needs Stanley to do for him. Lastly, Sam Shepard plays the roll of Senator Reisman. I won’t go too deep into what his roll is in the movie as it might give too much away to those who haven’t seen it. Just know he plays a very important role.I will say that action movies are by far my favorite type of movie and this movie is a perfect example of why. This movie features everything you will look for in an action movie; guns, car chases (with a beatuiful TVR Tuscan I might add), explosions, beautiful women, and even a bus dangling from a helicopter while flying through L.A. The movie also has a visual look to it that I can’t put quite into words. It has some type of yellowish lens filter on some scenes and a cool blueish, purplish, greenish filter on other scenes. You really have to see it, it just gives the movie its own feeling that I have never seen before and I absolutely love it. And I never want another movie to use it because looking at it just reminds me this is Swordfish.The other thing I must bring up is this films AMAZING soundtrack Swordfish. It was created by popular techno artist Paul Oakenfold. I have never heard a soundtrack like this in my life. It just fits the entire look of the movie so amazingly and will also give your home theater system a workout as well.Finally I will talk about the Blu-Ray itself. The picture quality here is reference quality. Its that good. It also features a 5.1 Dolby Digital track which is a bit older than today’s current DTS HD tracks but it still sounds very phenomenal.Just sit back and log on, hack in, go anywhere, and steal everything with Swordfish.

Great hard to find older movie.
Just said it all above. Nice Blu-Ray to have!

Good action
It was a good movie. I would have rather seen more of Halle Barry

Favorite Movie!!
Flawless copy of my favorite movie!! I was more than pleased!

Buena película.

I am truly thrilled to have this movie in my collection again! It is a genuine delight. John Travolta, Hugh Jackman and Halle Barry are at their best. The movie is a tightly-woven thrill ride with a few wild curves. I love, especially, the moral ambiguity, which allows the watcher to determine who is the protagonist, the antagonist, and the victims. Director Dominic Sena keeps the pace lively but not too quick, allowing the characters to develop organically before the next action set piece. Travolta chews up every scene he’s in; he owns this movie and his casting makes it work. Jackson, Barry and even Don Cheadle, do remarkable work and push along the story to its very exciting final twist.Anyone who hates or pans this movie is, in my opinion, probably expecting the expected. This movie is not that. Sena has thrown out all the rules to create an incredible film that, even 18 years after its release, is still very interesting and relevant.The Blu-ray edition is contains a few extras that only add to the experience of a movie you’ll want to watch over and over again.

Zuallererst mal: ich habe den Film im Kino als unsäglich langweilig empfunden, eben einer dieser Streifen bei denen man rausgeht und eigentlich nur sagen kann “nette Action” weil einem nix anderes einfällt.Mag es meiner derzeitigen Obsession Hugh Jackman betreffend zuzuschreiben sein, ich habe mir die DVD zu Gemüte geführt.Brillant! Ich muß völlig neben mir gewesen sein als ich den Film im Kino gesehen habe! Die Geiselszene gleich zu Beginn des Films ist packend, rasant und technisch hochkarätig ins Bild gesetzt. Der Rundumshot á la “Matrix” ist grossartig und die Tatsache, daß gleich zu Beginn klar gemacht wird, daß die Grenzen zwischen Gut und Böse meistens fliessend sind und man eigentlich nur das Unerwartete erwarten kann ist programmatisch für den Film.Im weiteren Verlauf muß die wirklich ungewöhnliche Bus/Lastenhelikopter Szene erwähnt werden die für sich genommen auch schon phantastisch ist.Leider bleiben die Darsteller ein wenig dahinter zurück. Travolta spielt seine generische Schurkenrolle, slick, suave und etwas durchgeknallt.Berry zeigt was sie hat, Eye Candy für die männlichen Wesen, aber die computergewandte Gespielin/Undercoveragentin nimmt man ihr nicht ab.Jackman ist offensichtlich so überwältig neben seinem Idol (O-Ton Jackman) John Travolta spielen zu dürfen, daß er außer in der berühmt/berüchtigten Hacken-unter-erschwerten-Bedingungen-Szene eher mässig agiert.Richtig toll ist dagegen Camryn Grimes in der Nebenrolle als Stanley Jobsons (Jackman) 10-jährige Tochter Holly. Screentime: vielleicht 5 Minuten. Schade eigentlich.Bemerkenswert fand ich auch den Soundtrack: fetzig, aggressiv und eingängig. Musik wie man sie in einem Cabrio bei 140 km/h auf dem Pacific Highway No.1 hören sollte. ;o)Ein Minus für den Film: die übertriebene Verwendung von Farbfiltern. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, daß ganz Kalifornien in Gelb, Braun und Grün schwelgt.Soviel zu dem Film selbst.Die DVD Edition ist jedoch der Überflieger. Hier gibt es neben den üblichen Featurettes über die Visual FX und ein paar Sprechblasen des Cast wahre Juwelen zu finden, entweder als DVD-Rom oder wenn man einen DVD mit Titelanwahl hat auch direkt am TV (Tracks 6 + 10-19): weitere kurze aber witzige Interview-“Schnippsel” des Cast, ein Musikvideo UND… ein absolut mega-spassiger Mitschnitt eines Auftritts von Jackman und Travolta in der australischen Talkshow “Rove live”.Wenn die drei (der Moderator ist mindestens genauso witzig) loslegen, bleibt kein Auge trocken. Travolta animiert Jackman sogar dazu mit ihm gemeinsam kurz ein Duett aus “Grease” anzustimmen… mit Jackman als Sandy! Wobei sich herausstellt, daß Jackman zu recht z.Zt. den “Boy From Oz” am Broadway gibt.Alles in allem, warum sitzt ihr noch hier und surft nicht schon lange um euch die DVD zu bestellen?