I didn't expect much of Haywire, since I saw it on a flip while duelling one of those afternoon hangovers that debilitate in the most tedious of ways. To my pleasured surprise it eased my brow, quickened my pulse and even made me smile, though imperfect certainly one of the better mainstream films I've seen of late. The key to it all is that it isn't a film about plot, but about energy, about the vacuous rush in and as of itself and the smiling knowledge of same. There is a plot, espionage stuff with a highly skilled mercenary lady betrayed and seeking truth, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is the precise yet effortless editing that makes near every other scene transition seem like it could be a suave sleight of hand, the slickly mannered dialogue and of course a handful of action scenes. The dialogue is utterly disposable and all the more winning for it, characters communicate in ticket stubs, crisp signifiers of no content other than meaning understood, but as the film progresses the dialogue builds in effect, it becomes its own little magic trick, mirthful in its knowing superficiality. Superficial but not pointless, by the by the film comes to resemble a paper trail caught in an updraft, twirling fragile shape that catches the eye the more for the threat of dissolution and chaos. Screenwriter Lem Dobbs holds everything together pretty well, though really it's Soberbergh's direction and editing that make everything work. And of course the key joke to the film, that its centre is a non actress and those around her, those in the most clipped of exchanges are often rather good actors. Though I shouldn't be unfair to Gina Carano, the film requires her to be tough and she convinces, it also requires her to fight and she fights well, deploying some cool moves. It also doesn't hurt that she's rather easy on the eye. Around her solid work comes from Ewan McGregor as a slimy mover and shaker, Michael Fassbender as a smooth gay secret agent and Michael Douglas as a handler of sorts, plus a small turn from Bill Paxton as her dad, nobody really excels but all do their bit, low key and convincing enough. My only substantial complaint is a finale that falls a bit flat, for all that the film has been building to it ends on a bit of a whimper, neither exciting nor intriguing enough. Still, it doesn't dispel the good vibes of the rest of the film, given that it is more or less as slick as the rest, and has it logic I guess. All in all I thought this a classy entertainment of an old fashioned yet forward thinking sort, and as action thrillers go worth a look. 7/10 from me.
