I’ll watch anything by Steven Soderbergh – and if it’s a genre piece, I’m quite likely to add it my library. Copies of Traffic, The Limey, Solaris, Out of Sight, and Ocean’s Eleven have pride of place on the shelves. (The absence of Erin Brockovich and the Ocean sequels is, I think, self-explanatory.)
When I heard Soderbergh was making an action film, my Pavlovian response was predictable. An awesome roll call of actors. The writer of The Limey. Exotic locales. Its arrival on these shores couldn’t happen quickly enough.
It skipped a theatrical release and went straight to DVD. I watched it and kinda liked it. I watched it again – this time with The Goddess – and liked it more. And I think I’ll watch it again.
This excellent Editing Room abridged script both captures and highlights what I really enjoy about Haywire: it upsets my expectations of an action thriller while still giving me an action thriller. It’s no masterpiece. It’s a genre exercise. The story is familiar as all get out. Lead Gina Carano‘s game acting is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast who get into the spirit of things rather than just slumming it. Soderbergh’s crisp direction and Dobbs’ deft script provide 93 minutes of action, thrills and suspense.
I think it’s a keeper.
