Haywire

I’ve put this review off for about a week because I just didn’t truly know how I felt about the latest directorial effort from Steven Soderbergh, Haywire, which is also his first foray into the action genre.
I had two major thoughts about the movie while walking out of the theater.  The first thought was how it reminded me of an opinion people have about the James Bond franchise.
Don’t get me wrong, this is nothing like a James Bond movie.  It is slow-paced, low-key, and light on action.  So what about Haywire reminded me of the 007 series?  The idea of putting a non-action director in charge and letting him focus on the story and characterization while others worry about the action stunts is something that keeps coming up when people discuss the direction the Bond movies need to go.  Now is not the time or place to argue the merits of that scheme, but I will say the producers seem to have taken that course, hiring Marc Forster and Sam Mendes for the last two films.
Getting back to Haywire, Soderbergh is certainly not an action director and most will recognize his name as the guy who was in charge of the party during filming the Ocean’s films with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and the rest of the gang.  He is also the champion of independent filmmaking, as his movie Sex, Lies, and Videotape began the independent movie push of the 90s.
Although Soderbergh’s credentials were not tailored to action movies, he had the idea to create a project around MMA star Gina Carano.  Essentially, it would be an action film (like a James Bond movie) helmed by an artsy director.  That is where the thoughts on Bond end though when it comes to comparing it with Haywire.
Soderbergh’s trademarks are all over this movie.  In fact, going into it I had no idea he was the director.  I simply had seen a preview or two, thought it looked interesting enough, and convinced a buddy to go with me on a Wednesday night.  But while watching things progress I couldn’t help wondering what was going on, not because I didn’t understand the plot but instead because it didn’t feel like the movie I thought I was going to see.  There was a lot of style to it you just don’t normally see in action movies.  It was less like Salt or the Bourne series and more like The American.  The characters didn’t make decisions based on the next action sequence they needed to be at but rather the action cropped up when it was necessary.
The Steven Soderbergh style I am talking about is most plainly felt in the flow of the storytelling, seen in the cinematography, and heard in the soundtrack.  Immediately when the credits started rolling at the film’s finale and Soderbergh’s name popped up as the director everything made sense to me regarding how the story was told, the photography shot, and the music chosen.
The second opinion I had regarding Haywire was Carano’s acting debut.  My initial reaction to Carano was she is cold and unemotional.  Actually to be more accurate, I thought every time she opened her mouth she was attempting to avoid any sort of altercation with her opponent by lulling them to sleep with a monotone delivery and expressionless gaze.  It was only the next day I learned that Soderbergh had altered Carano’s voice to make it less attractive.  In fact, some are reporting it is actress Laura San Giacomo who dubbed Carano, which says something about what Soderbergh thinks of San Giacomo’s beauty or lack thereof I should say.
Generally, I liked what I saw but not so much that I would make a point to sit down and watch it again in full.  The performances from the supporting cast, which included Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Fassbender, were generally good and I’m going to give Carano a pass since the dubbing might have skewed the final results.  The actor I shall not give a pass to and have never seen a quality performance from is Channing Tatum.  That guy is just dreadful.
I have concluded to give Haywire a 6 out of 10 grade.