Review of the film Haywire

            So Haywire, the Stephen Soderbergh action flick, is a very good movie. I know that it's not just me saying this:  Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 80% fresh score. That's definitely a positive rating from a poll of hundreds of critics from around the country and world. The esteemed Roger Ebert spends most of his review analyzing why young males in this country respond so positively to stories centering on attractive female heroines kicking ass and pummeling the opposition, mostly male, physically and mentally. Maybe it's a pleasure of some sort for these young males—a hidden masochist fantasy playing out before them—that drives so many of these men to seek out these images and tales.  I have to say that most of these heroine driven ass-kicking stories are fashioned and constructed by men, and it could speak to why they are so well-received by a male audience.

            So why am I, as a female, responding so strongly to the images before me in Haywire—of a razor-intelligent and capable woman outwitting and outfighting numbers of strong and smart men--a tale written by a man and directed by a man seemingly for those male audience members I love to hate? I can't fully explain why I loved this movie. There was the angle that this film took, a bit turned or altered from that of most of the action movies I've been previously disparaging.

            Perhaps it’s the masochist in me. But there is something smarter and less condescending about this film’s depiction of a female action star. Suppose we were watching an action film starring a man; we wouldn’t be putting as much emphasis on his acting performance and line readings. We’d be focused on his ability to bear the weight of the action driving the film.

            Former MMA champion Gina Carano stars in the film Haywire. The story is centered around skilled operative Mallory Kane, now retiring from a highly secretive government security contractor. Unfortunately, that last job she performs before retirement is also a set-up. It has been designed to frame and kill her. Instead of becoming a blacklisted corpse, Kane survives and becomes a fugitive from the law. Someone close has double-crossed her, and Kane's life depends upon finding out who and why.

            The majority of the film is action-based, structured and angled around Gina Carano's particular physical skills and abilities. The sequences left me breathless. Her action talent is unmistakable; her agility and presence of mind are there in her every movement throughout the film. Perhaps she isn't the best line reader or dramatic actress; she is up against a formidable cast of distinguished male actors, but there is no doubt that Carano has a future in film with the best of them. Let's just hope it is well-written and directed action thrillers instead of the kinda sad Underworld films.