A covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell led by Gabriel Shear wants the money to help finance their war against international terrorism, but it's all locked away. Gabriel brings in ... Read allA covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell led by Gabriel Shear wants the money to help finance their war against international terrorism, but it's all locked away. Gabriel brings in convicted hacker Stanley Jobson to help him.A covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell led by Gabriel Shear wants the money to help finance their war against international terrorism, but it's all locked away. Gabriel brings in convicted hacker Stanley Jobson to help him.
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Featured reviews
sadly realistic
Apart from that, I think this is a good action movie, more intelligent than most of its kind. My only objection is Hugh Jackman: he is really good in the film, but doesn't look exactly as a computer freak. He's too sexy for that. But then again, why complain?
First Viewing Was A 'Blast'
Some of this script is a takeoff on Dog Day Afternoon, which Travolta's character re-enacts a role from that famous '70s film. "Shear" talks about that movie during the film.
I almost got discouraged watching this in the first half hour because there is so much computer terminology that I was lost. However, if you find yourself in a similar spot, take heart because that that ends after that first 30 minutes and is no longer a problem.
Credibility and bias aside, it's still a fun movie for at least one viewing, with that early bomb scene most memorable.
Travolta Makes a Successful Return to Pulp-esque Character
Mylo On The Movies gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Cool, Slick and Sexy
Well, Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) a convicted Hacker, fresh out of prison and desperate to see his daughter again, can beat you, i'll bet on it. He has to hack into the FBI Computers in a fairly public place, with a gun to his head and a beautiful woman performing an act of Felacio on him, and he has just one minute to do it. (A Great Scene, Not Explict, just cool)
Anyway, he is recruited by John Travolta to hack into a dormant DEA Fund worth 9.5 Billion Dollars to finance his terrorist activities.
Full of Slick Dialogue, cool Direction and the simply gorgeous Halle Berry, this turns out to be a very enjoyable Thriller, with some clever twists (some of which don't quite work) but are forgivable anyway.
Not a classic, but a good film none the less. 8/10
Enjoyable Performance From Hugh Jackman
Plot In A Paragraph: Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) is trying to access information that is locked inside a complicated computer system that contains mountains of government secrets - and money. With the help of his companion Ginger (Halle Berry) he hires Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman), a desperate computer expert, who is trying to stay clean to help him hack into the system.
I'll get what I dislike out of the way first. Halle Berry's much hyped first topless scene looks very forced, and looks to only be in the movie for publicity purposes. John Travolta gives an awful performance and following "The Punisher" the last movie I watched him in, this is another hint that "Pulp Fiction" was a fluke. Tate Donovan is an awful actor, but thank funny his role is small. I'm not sure why Vinnie Jones is here, as I don't recall him having any dialogue, except an awful bit at the end. Despite a short running time, the plot is drawn out, and seems to have too much going on at the same time.
Where the movie works is Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry. Jackman is a likable hero, both handsome and charismatic while also having the ability to actually act! Berry looks great and does as well as the material allows.
Could have been worse, but also it could have been a hell of a lot better.
Did you know
- TriviaThe dramatic explosion at the start of the film was captured using 135 synchronized still cameras.
- GoofsStanley Jobson's hands can be seen typing in many closeups. His fingers constantly hit two keys at once or miss the keys entirely, indicating that he is not typing but striking the keyboard quickly.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Gabriel: You know what the problem with Hollywood is? They make shit. Unbelievable, unremarkable shit. Now I'm not some grungy wannabe filmmaker that's searching for existentialism through a haze of bong smoke or something. No, it's easy to pick apart bad acting, short-sighted directing, and a purely moronic stringing together of words that many of the studios term as "prose". No, I'm talking about the lack of realism. Realism; not a pervasive element in today's modern American cinematic vision. Take Dog Day Afternoon, for example. Arguably Pacino's best work, short of Scarface and Godfather Part 1, of course. Masterpiece of directing, easily Lumet's best. The cinematography, the acting, the screenplay, all top-notch. But... they didn't push the envelope. Now what if in Dog Day, Sonny wanted to get away with it, REALLY wanted to get away with it? What if - now here's the tricky part - what if he started killing hostages right away? No mercy, no quarter. "Meet our demands or the pretty blonde in the bellbottoms gets it the back of the head." Bam, splat! What, still no bus? Come on! How many innocent victims splattered across a window would it take to have the city reverse its policy on hostage situations? And this is 1976; there's no CNN, there's no CNBC, there's no internet! Now fast forward to today, present time, same situation. How quickly would the modern media make a frenzy over this? In a matter of hours, it'd be biggest story from Boston to Budapest! Ten hostages die, twenty, thirty; bam bam, right after another, all caught in high-def, computer-enhanced, color corrected. You can practically taste the brain matter. All for what? A bus, a plane? A couple of million dollars that's federally insured? I don't think so. Just a thought. I mean, it's not within the realm of conventional cinema... but what if?
- Crazy creditsThe last credit reads "Final Password: Vernam", which is part of the website game. (See Trivia). A Vernam cypher is a method of encrypting a message.
- Alternate versionsAlternate television takes were shot for the scene with Ginger at the pool (she wears a bikini) and where Stanley hacks into the main frame of the Departement of Defense (Helga is not there).
- ConnectionsFeatured in Conversations with Jerry Bruckheimer (2000)
- SoundtracksDark Machine
Written by Paul Oakenfold and Andy Gray
Performed by Paul Oakenfold and Christopher Young
Courtesy of London-Sire Records
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Swordfish: Acceso autorizado
- Filming locations
- Ventura, California, USA(Location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $102,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $69,772,969
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $18,145,632
- Jun 10, 2001
- Gross worldwide
- $147,080,413
- Runtime
- 1h 39m(99 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1