Firewall (Widescreen Edition) DVD Review
Actor(s):
Carly Schroeder,
Harrison Ford,
Jimmy Bennett,
Paul Bettany,
Virginia Madsen
Directors(s):
Richard Loncraine
Harrrison Ford brings his reliable brand of focused intensity to
Firewall, a family-in-peril thriller that fits Ford like a comfortable old sweater. The venerable action star is visibly growing older now, but he's got a quiet, simmering quality here that perfectly suits his role as Jack Stanfield, Vice President of security at a large Seattle bank that's recently upgraded to a state-of-the-art computer security system (resulting in conspicuous Dell product placement throughout the film). Jack's the only one who can safely crack the system, so he's targeted by a would-be robber (Paul Bettany) whose jittery crew of thugs and hackers kidnaps Jack's wife (
Sideways star Virginia Madsen), daughter, and young son, threatening to kill them if Jack doesn't transfer $100 million into the robber's secret offshore account. Like Bruce Willis in 2005's
Hostage, Ford rises above the film's familiar generic trappings, and British director Richard Loncraine maintains a low-key escalation of tension that keeps
Firewall on track toward a routine but satisfying conclusion. Supporting roles for Alan Arkin, Robert Forster and Robert Patrick add little to the film's turnabout plotting, but fans of Mary Lynn Rajskub (better known as ace computer nerd "Chloe" on the hit series
24) will enjoy her performance here as a loyal secretary who factors into Stanfield's bid to outsmart his captors.
Firewall may not be an instant Ford classic like
The Fugitive, but it's comparable to Ford's 2000 thriller
What Lies Beneath in terms of overall intelligence and crowd-pleasing suspense.
--Jeff Shannon
