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Firewall

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Firewall (2006)

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Reviews Counted:151

Fresh:29

Rotten:122

Average Rating:4.6/10

Consensus: Harrison Ford's rote performance brings little to this uninspired techno-heist film whose formulaic plot is befuddled with tedious and improbable twists.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for some intense sequences of violence

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:2005

Box Office: $48,699,400

Synopsis: Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) is an average family man in Seattle who heads up the hi-tech security team at his local bank. But following a seemingly trivial case of identity theft, Jack's life is... Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) is an average family man in Seattle who heads up the hi-tech security team at his local bank. But following a seemingly trivial case of identity theft, Jack's life is turned upside-down when he discovers that his wife (Virginia Madsen) and two kids have been kidnapped. The ransom? A mere $100 million, which the kidnappers, led by Bill Cox (Paul Bettany), want Jack to obtain for them via his expert computer skills. Initially compliant, Jack is soon irked by Cox and his cronies to the point where he decides to get his family back and bring the bad guys to justice. British Director Richard Loncraine (WIMBLEDON) uses this basic premise to orchestrate a number of frantic set-pieces, while Ford concocts a character similar to his take on Dr. Richard Kimble in THE FUGITIVE. With a mouthful of computer jargon and nimble fingers that tumble frantically over a keyboard whenever he's in front of a computer, Ford's character is an unlikely action hero. Meanwhile, Bettany's bad guy gives subtly sinister instructions in his clipped British accent, Robert Forster (JACKIE BROWN) provides a likeable if underused ally for Ford, and Madsen slots neatly into her wife-in-peril role. As the film builds to an explosive climax Loncraine dumps the gadgets and carves out a delirious romp through action-movie conventions, ultimately infusing an old-fashioned story with a twist of 21st-century techno-fear. [More]

Starring: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Alan Arkin

Starring: Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Alan Arkin, Beverley Breuer, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Ken Tremblett, Robert Forster, Robert Patrick, Joe Forte

Director: Richard Loncraine

Director: Richard Loncraine
Screenwriter: Joe Forte
Producer: Armyan Bernstein, Graham Burke, Jeffrey Clifford, Jonathan Shestack
Composer: Alexandre Desplat
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Release:

Sep 5, 2006

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Firewall
  • Firewall stars Harrison Ford as bank security expert Jack Stanfield, whose specialty is designing infallible theft-proof financial computer systems. But there's a hidden vulnerability in the system he didn't account for - himself. When a ruthless criminal mastermind (Paul Bettany) kidnaps his family, Jack is forced to find a flaw in his system and steal $100 million. With the lives of his wife and children at stake and under constant surveillance, he has only hours to find a loophole in the thief's own impenetrable system of subterfuge and false identities to beat him at his own game.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
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    Reviews for Firewall

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
    04/29/09
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Cinema Crazed
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/23/09
    Peter Keough
    Peter Keough
    Boston Phoenix

    The movie is so disposable that you won't remember you've seen it.

    Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
    04/20/09
    Cole Smithey
    Cole Smithey
    ColeSmithey.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
    01/15/08
    Garth Franklin
    Garth Franklin
    Dark Horizons
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
    11/01/07
    David Ansen
    David Ansen
    Newsweek
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Another edge-of-your-seat, roller coaster ride from a matinee idol everybody loves to root for.

    Full Review Source: Upstage Magazine | comment Comment
    05/30/07
    Kam Williams
    Kam Williams
    Upstage Magazine

    A solid ensemble almost saves Firewall, but, in the end, it goes up in campy flames.

    Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
    03/24/07
    Brian Tallerico
    Brian Tallerico
    UGO

    Director Richard Loncraine shows no affinity for the nuts and bolts of constructing thrillers, playing out the script's empty threats and chases at a lethargic pace.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    03/01/07
    Daniel Eagan
    Daniel Eagan
    Film Journal International
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
    01/20/07
    Philip French
    Philip French
    Observer [UK]

    Harrison Ford is outshone by his costars in this crisp, conventional thriller.

    Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
    10/07/06
    Stephanie Zacharek
    Stephanie Zacharek
    Salon.com
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    There is an air of desperation about Firewall, a sense that Ford needed to make this movie just to keep his face in the public eye, lest we think he had fallen off the planet altogether.

    Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment Comment
    09/22/06
    Peter T. Chattaway
    Peter T. Chattaway
    Christianity Today

    Its formulaic moves seem particuarly tired.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Trevor Johnston
    Trevor Johnston
    Time Out

    ...it's always good to see Ford back in action mode. He lifts a routine film out of total mediocrity by his very presence.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    05/31/06
    John J. Puccio
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com

    The movie gets a lift from Mary Lynn Rajskub in a glamorized version of her nerd’s wet dream Chloe on 24, which is also better this year with the Chloe quotient pumped up.

    Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
    05/12/06
    David Edelstein
    David Edelstein
    New York Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The characters spend a lot of time hunched over keyboards tap-tap-tapping away, which isn’t all that suspenseful to watch.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    05/12/06
    Jim Lane
    Jim Lane
    Sacramento News & Review

    It runs along a time-worn path at a leisurely pace and holds few surprises.

    Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
    05/03/06
    Robert Roten
    Robert Roten
    Laramie Movie Scope
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    04/01/06
    Peter Bradshaw
    Peter Bradshaw
    Guardian [UK]

    A formulaic, it’ll-do action-thriller, Firewall does what you’d expect it to well enough but fails to fully exploit the skills of its talented cast -- particularly the leading man.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    04/01/06
    Empire Magazine

    Something of a throwback to the Harrison Ford thrillers of the 90s, this is an average thriller with the occasional fun moment.

    Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
    03/30/06
    Matthew Turner
    Matthew Turner
    ViewLondon

    Not that [Harrison Ford] deserves our sympathy. The increasingly wrinkly veteran seems determined to age gracelessly, taking roles he's clearly too old for in a desperate attempt to maintain his leading man status.

    Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
    03/21/06
    Neil Smith
    Neil Smith
    BBC
     
     
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    Latest News for Firewall

    February 08, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Comedy vs. Cannibals at the Multiplexes
    Moviegoers get to choose between a master comic taking on three roles or a diabolical screen villain in his early years when they walk into their local multiplex this weekend. More...

    June 05, 2006: Virginia Madsen Isn't Mrs. Indy ... But She'd Love to Be Asked
    The lovely and talented Virginia Madsen has been dogged by the rumor since she co-starred with Harrison Ford in "Firewall" ... WILL she be starring as Mrs. Indiana... More...

    May 11, 2006: Bettany Not Too Likely to Play The Joker
    To those of you who've chosen Paul Bettany (aka Mr. Jennifer Connelly) as the front-runner to play The Joker in "Batman Begins 2," well, you may be out of luck --... More...

    February 13, 2006: Clouseau Defeats Death to Claim the Weekend Box Office
    Four brand-new flicks took most of the money home over this past weekend. First and second place were remarkably close, but early estimates indicate that Steve Martin and his... More...

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