movies report

This movie is an action thriller, starring Harrison Ford. Enough said. Or is it? I went to see this movie expecting it to be no more than a mediocre, hollywood thrust. But I have been mistaken before, so I thought I would give "Firewall" a chance. Remember people, dont judge a movie by it's DVD case or trailer or... something like that.

Harrison Ford plays as Jack Stanfield, the head of security for a global bank. He is a family man first, and a business man second, or, at least he tries to be. One day, after having dinner with a client, he is taken hostage, along with the rest of his family. He is sent to work, and is forced to transfer millions from his own business, to the "bank robbers" account, in order to save his family. What happens next is a game of cat and mouse, where Jack attempts to free his loved ones and stop the crooks from getting away, while the crooks thwart Jacks every move and get that much closer to becoming rich.

This is not Ford's best work. His portrayal of a family/business man is believable and all, but it's not award winning. The credit should go to Paul Bettany, the man who plays villain Bill Cox, the master mind behind the bank robbery, and an all around nice guy. He allows the family to almost do whatever they want (except escape or call for help), he spends time with the children, he even eats cookies and watches the Flintstones on TV. No, seriously.

Let's not forget the rest of the cast. Oh, wait, I already have. The family is unappealing, the crooks (besides Cox) are lame, and Jack's co-workers are short lived. All of these people started out ok, but just when you think one of them will stand out and actually do some acting, they fall back into the shadow of Ford. Jack's son Andrew (Jimmy Bennett) did show some promise, as the stupid/annoying boy that hung out with the bad guys. Whats up with that?

When it comes down to it, this is a "by the books" hostage story that drags on for too long. All Jack does is put his family at risk, by repeatedly trying to escape and get help. It's towards the end where the movie picks up, and the action kicks in, but by that time, you will already be wondering when the movie will be over.

While the title, "Firewall", is over dramatic and misleading (no wall of fire, can you believe that), the movie is not bad. It is just not original. The only reason to watch this movie is if you have a Harrison Ford fetish, if you dont, you could still see it, but you should wait and rent it at least.