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Firewall (2006)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Firewall
Another edge-of-your-seat, roller coaster ride from a matinee idol everybody loves to root for.
A solid ensemble almost saves Firewall, but, in the end, it goes up in campy flames.
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.
Harrison Ford is outshone by his costars in this crisp, conventional thriller.
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.
...it's always good to see Ford back in action mode. He lifts a routine film out of total mediocrity by his very presence.
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.
The characters spend a lot of time hunched over keyboards tap-tap-tapping away, which isn’t all that suspenseful to watch.
It runs along a time-worn path at a leisurely pace and holds few surprises.
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.
Something of a throwback to the Harrison Ford thrillers of the 90s, this is an average thriller with the occasional fun moment.
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.
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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