Swordfish (June 16/01)

Unlike most mega-budget so-called action movies released nowadays, Swordfish is actually violent. Many such pictures are so desperate to receive the coveted PG-13 rating - so as to bring in a larger audience - they'll eschew carnage in favour of more explosions and more stunt work. Swordfish, thankfully, marks a return to the violent summer movie (though still not as violent as some films that came before it).

Hugh Jackman stars as a retired (read: paroled) hacker that's recruited to crack an impossible encryption system by super-villain John Travolta. Why would he do this, you ask? Simple: His daughter is living with his ex-wife and since he's an ex-convict, it's near impossible for him to regain custody (although, as another critic pointed out, his ex-wife is now appearing in porn films, so how difficult would it have been to convince a judge that she's an unsuitable influence?), so Travolta offers to pay him an exorbitant amount of money for him to retain a fancy legal team. Halle Berry also stars, in a completely useless role that seems to have been included in the film only to allow her the opportunity to go topless.

While Swordfish isn't exactly a masterpiece of filmmaking in any respect, it is consistently entertaining and considering how dull most summer movies are these days, that's all one can ask. Directed by Dominic Sena (who helmed last year's equally entertaining Gone in 60 Seconds), the movie opens with a lengthy monologue by Travolta decrying Hollywood movies. This speech is incredibly entertaining, albeit in a Pulp Fiction-esque, look-how-clever-I-am sort of way. Skip Woods, the man behind the equally pop-culture riffing Thursday, has crafted an intelligent screenplay and that came as somewhat of a surprise. When most movies of this sort are as stupid as Tomb Raider, it's genuinely exciting to see a movie with dialogue that doesn't suck.

And what a relief it was, finally, to see a movie use the Matrix bullet-time effect well. The 360-degree look at an explosion is probably the coolest thing you'll see all summer (and Sena doesn't over use it either; it's shown once and that's it).

Look, I'm not saying that Swordfish is any kind of masterpiece. Far from it - Berry's character is completely superfluous, the mid-section drags a bit and there are enough plot holes to fly one of Travolta's jets through - but for what it is, it works. Strap yourself in for the ride and enjoy.