Gina Carano deserved to be a bigger leading lady. She could’ve been one of the best action stars.
AT FIRST, I WAS LIKE: Completely forgettable. I couldn’t get into anything going on but I liked the action as well as Gina Carano’s performance. The one thing I vividly remember from my first watch was the fight on the beach between Gina Carano and Ewan McGregor. That sequence has a lot of overhead shots which has stuck with me ever since my first watch. The action is very different from other action sequences because of how unglamorous it is; it’s intimate and raw. Other than that, I largely dismissed it as forgettable.
BUT NOW, I’M LIKE: Haywire is actually better than I remember it being! I picked up so many things this time around. The action is still just as good as the first time I watched it, but I admire it for how raw it was; every kick and punch thrown had me cringing from how painful it looked. It’s never romanticized and it’s shot from a distance which helps keep it grounded. Say what you want about Carano as an actress but I think she has a great onscreen presence and her prowess as an MMA fighter is on full display here! If we’re going to rank modern action heroines, she’d easily be on that list.
IN THE END, I’M JUST LIKE: Steven Soderbergh needs to do more action films because he has a really unique take on the genre. The editing is so smooth and the cinematography is experimental in a way most modern action films aren’t. I’ve never been one for plot and given that Haywire is a spy film, it requires you to keep up. Despite that, Haywire is shot and edited in a way that gauges your interest and it never lets you go. This was one of the most rewarding rewatched I’ve had in a long time and I’d recommend this to anyone who loves action and spy films
The Cinebuff 