Don’t see this movie. That said, there are some noteworthy aspects to Haywire. First, the director was Steven Soderbergh, much to my surprise. Second, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas have key roles albeit with limited screen time. Third, Gina Carano is tough-as-nails in a role Angelina Jolie might play as a Bourne-like unstoppable super-agent. This movie sets up a series based around Agent Mallory, former Marine.

Unfortunately, four or five scenes involve two people beating the shit out of each other, smashing opponents into sharp edges, wrenching limbs out of sockets. These fights would be hard to watch under any circumstances. However, I can hardly bear to see a man beat a woman, even one who more than outmatches him in the end. This isn’t the choreography of kung fu — these people look like they’re trying to kill each other with sheer brutality.

Moreover, long stretches between fights are slow no matter how they advance the story. The editing is fractured, as we see many flashbacks to explain the situation, which still seems oddly contrived in the end. The music is awful at times. Overall, it seems like a junior-year film school project.

I don’t know why this was in my queue, although it has a stellar cast, especially Ian McKellan. And a soundtrack by Philip Glass, which is not really a plus for me. (Too many iterations of Einstein on the Beach in my salad days.) I hate the feeling of dread that a movie is about to get violent. Perhaps it’s a spoiler to say this one never gets as violent as I feared. My hat’s off to the writer/director. (I kept thinking about Bridge to Terabithia and, less so, Ink. If you only see one of these, it should be Ink.)

I’ve wanted to see The Fall since it came out. Tarsem Singh directed The Cell, which completely blew me away. In both movies, Tarsem features fantastical, vast landscapes – he has a painter’s eye. Many scenes in both movies are fantastically beautiful.

The Fall is also a bit of an homage to early film and to stuntmen. Above all, it celebrates imagination. However, the final half hour stumbles quite a bit. I’d recommend The Cell, instead.

The Fall (2006) – IMDb

The Fall(2006)

117 min  -  Adventure | Drama | Fantasy  -  3 January 2008 (Russia)

Ratings: 7.9/10 from 46,079 users  Metascore: 64/100
Reviews: 250 user |166 critic |23 from Metacritic.com

In a hospital on the outskirts of 1920s Los Angeles, an injured stuntman begins to tell a fellow patient, a little girl with a broken arm, a fantastical story about 5 mythical heroes. Thanks to his fractured state of mind and her vivid imagination, the line between fiction and reality starts to blur as the tale advances.

Director:

Tarsem Singh

Writers:

Dan Gilroy (screenplay), Nico Soultanakis (screenplay), and 2 more credits »

Stars:

Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru and Justine Waddell

The Fall (2006) – IMDb

Ultimately, this movie fails because it is so dreadfully slow. It fascinates with its animation, which seems based on real film distorted in an interesting way, producing anime like faces and Astro Boy like movements (the original; haven’t seen the remakes). It looks like a descendant of Peter Gabriel’s Big Time: newer, slicker, not as much fun. It is a dystopian tale of a corporate takeover of Europe and may be too European, if not too dystopian. I’m not sorry I saw it, but I recommend so many 5-star movies before this one: Ink, the Caveman’s Valentine, Jade Warrior, or Franklyn.

Curiously, Stig Larsson was one of the screenwriters.