Girl Power With Fire Power

The great thing about director Steven Soderbergh is that no matter what type of story he turns his hand to, you know he’s going to make it his. Haywire, Soderbergh’s take on spy thrillers, is no exception with the twisty, action packed tale utilising his art house approach to storytelling from colour coding the story strands, minimising the dialogue, a retro David Holmes score, a classy ensemble of top of the line acting talent all pulled together by a magnetic central performance.

In this case Gina Carano might not be the most natural actress in the world but her sheer physical presence, undoubted fighting ability and calm, direct and confident persona means we’re transfixed on her as an audience. The action sequences (where she beats the living shit out of the male cast) are frenetic but the camerawork and editing is restrained meaning we can appreciate Carano’s bone crunching combat abilities in all their glory and the chase set pieces clear, excellently paced and filled with suspense.

Best of all is the lean, pared down script which makes the audience pay attention and catch up on all the shady double dealings going on. Haywire is an excellent minimalist espionage thriller with a kick ass leading lady and a dash of art-house retro cool.