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Topic: Swordfish

Will Morrow
Film Handler

Posts: 91
From: Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 06-07-2001 04:16 PM

Screened this deuuuuuuuzi last night, and it was't a complete waste of time. Don't go in expecting to take the film seriously, or even some of the acting, and you will enjoy it, as action films can be enjoyed. There are some cool explosions, and I thought John Travolta's character was pretty damn cool, what he was lacking his TVR made up for it. Hugh Jackman...Wolverine...uh no...former hacker? Yep. He does an okay job, but I think he "overacted" some of the exchanges with his daughter. Out of 10 stars, I give this 5, because of the TVR and some cool "BOOMS".

Just my opinion though. ;-)

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-07-2001 10:37 PM

This was pretty decent, actually. Not great, but a fun (mostly) mindless film.

They got the "hacker" personality all wrong. Almost every film makes this mistake. "Wargames" comes the closest to getting it right, but nothing really hits it perfectly.

The technical stuff is, of course, nonsensical. Why can't any director seem to make user interfaces in "movie computers" look like user interfaces in real life? Stuff like character prompts, realistic GUIs, etc. instead of cool-looking but totally useless 3D animated stuff.

Regardless, there are some good scenes here. I'd like to be able to cut out the first minute or so (the "You know what's wrong with Hollywood? They make shit!" speech) and show it as a trailer before random bad movies. Not that I would do this, of course, but it's a fun thought.

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Chad Souder
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 962
From: Waterloo, IA, USA
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 06-09-2001 08:20 PM

Lets be honest here. There is one reason to watch this movie. OK, technically there are two reasons. They come 45 minutes into the picture (this includes a standard amount of previews). Those who know what I'm talking about, know what I'm talking about. Otherwise, John Travolta should stick to his Scientology and stop wasting our time.

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"Asleep at the switch? I wasn't asleep, I was drunk!" - Homer Simpson

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Matt Elzie
Film Handler

Posts: 17
From: Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Registered: May 2001

posted 06-10-2001 05:29 AM

I agree wholeheartedly, Chad.
Same for you Scott. I guess the actual hacker personality (as well as realistic interfaces) isn't as romantic or interesting to the average viewer. Watching someone write and dissect code for six minutes with no cool computer effects or utterly meaningless 3d imagery isn't very entertaining. At least the terminology was somewhat correct (if not strung together rather randomly). For a real laugh, watch Hackers, and try to make sense out of the garbage the characters spout.
Incidentally, I always wondered how long it would have taken the security gaurds in Mission:Impossible to search their authorization database if the pictures of each person on file didn't morph into each other. Talk about wasted processing power.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-13-2001 10:04 PM

Let me ask a seemingly stupid question:

Is it just me or is there something about John Travolta's "Bad Guy" character? It seems like there has been more than one of his movies where the protagonist's name was "Stanley".

It might just be my soggy brain but I just get this feeling...

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Dwayne Caldwell
Master Film Handler

Posts: 323
From: Rockwall, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 06-14-2001 04:32 PM

I didn't care much for this movie. Sure Hugh Jackman did a good job and the intro special effects scene was kind of cool, but otherwise I couldn't get involved in this show at all. I just kind sat there and took in all the explosions and the automatic weapons fire and the bad dialogue all with pretty much the same degree of indifference. Don't think I'll watch this one again.

I actually liked Hackers (certainly more than this show), although I will admit the GUIs are extremely laughable. But I don't think anything can quite top the hacking graphics like the one they used in Weird Science. Remember when they were traveling down the tunnels of the Government mainframe to make Kelly Lebrock and at one point the skull and crossbones icon appears? Classically bad.

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The man with the magic hands.

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Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 07-01-2001 08:50 AM

Hi all

Just saw this film tonight.

Not bad - better than I expected in fact. Funnily enough I saw the dual episode of Welcome Back Kotter tonight in which Vinnie Barbarino and the gang leave school and look for jobs. Vinnie gets a job in a hospital. It seems that Kotter's advice to Vinnie to stay in school and get his disploma paid off after all although Kotter would probably not agree with the way Vinnie is making his money these days <smile>.

Swordfish is not a film to be taken too seriously. I enjoyed it but the plot was totally unrealistic and there wasn't anything terribly new or any great social commentary. At the beginning when Travolta is giving his lecture I tuned in hoping to here some deep and meaningful commentary on the American film industry but was disappointed. I got more out of 'Grosse Fatigue' in this respect but I suppose they are very different sorts of films.

Summary: If films were food this is American Fast Food

3 stars out of 5

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