Stars: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Sam Shepard, Vinnie Jones, Camryn Grimes, Zach Grenier

Director: Dominic Sena

Summary: A company which had shut down operations many years earlier has let its money sit around generating substantial compound interest and is now worth almost ten billion dollars. An anti-terrorist group needs the money to fight terrorism but cannot get at it. They bring in computer hacker Stanley Jobson to break into the government mainframe but he only wants to see his daughter again...

Star John Travolta revisits the grinning villain territory he explored in BROKEN ARROW and FACE/OFF with this stylish, supercharged techno-thriller. He plays Gabriel, a charismatic, fast-living mystery man who, with help from his right-hand woman, Ginger (Halle Berry), recruits ex-con and former master hacker Stan (Hugh Jackman) to aid in a plan to steal billions from a secret government bank account. Stan reluctantly agrees to help in order to finance the legal battle for custody of his young daughter (Camryn Grimes). Meanwhile an FBI computer crimes specialist (Don Cheadle) is determined to find out what's about to go down, and plans to use Stan to find out.
The movie amply earns its keep by cleverly zig-zagging away from audience's expectations and delivering many clever, pulse-pounding action set pieces--including an incredible opening explosion, a car chase through downtown Los Angeles replete with blazing machine guns, and a spectacular airborne climax. With the help of a propulsive electronica score by DJ Paul Okenfold, director Dominic Sena (GONE IN 60 SECONDS) lays down lots of style, and Travolta is mesmerizing in his juicy role.

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The sort of action thriller for which the phrase "high octane" could have been conceived, Swordfishstars John Travolta as Gabriel Shear, an enigmatic criminal operator who is as admired as he is feared. Using sexy sidekick Ginger (Halle Berry) as bait, he pressgangs Stanley Jobson, (Hugh Jackman) the world's greatest computer hacker, into helping him relieve the world banking system of a few billion dollars to finance his own enterprises. Jackman agrees, on the promise that Travolta will help him regain custody of his daughter.

The numerous explosions and set-piece exchanges of high calibre gunfire tend at times to blowholes in the narrative fabric and sense of Swordfish, a film that nonetheless engages through its extravagant silliness. Vinnie Jones is under-used as a fearsome minder, a close-up of Halle Berry's breasts isn't entirely integral to the plotline, while Travolta enjoys himself as the dapper ringmaster of this orgy of techno-chaos, especially in scenes in which he blasts away a brace of pursuing assassins with improbable aplomb and during his opening, Tarantino-esque monologue. By the end, he has shown himself in his apparently true colours in such a way that events of September 11, 2001--although made prior to them--lent the film an eerie sense of prescience. --David Stubbs

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio Commentary, Alternative Endings, The Making Of, Featurette, Restricted Files Featurette
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Romanian, Spanish
Year:	2001
Release Date:	January 28, 2002
Runtime:	99 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 021322
Keywords:	Action, General, Wide, Screen, Adventure, Swordfish
Genre:	Action/Adventure