Firewall

This weekend Dan and I watched Firewall, and in case you haven't already heard, it was dumb. It just never felt all that suspenseful and many of Harrison Ford's actions as Jack Stanfield were inexplicable. In my humble opinion, people watch movies like Firewall for one of two reasons: they like an intense thriller, and enjoy wondering whether the family will survive the burglars, or they like a plot that includes either a cleverly executed crime or a clever escape. For example, I liked The Fugitive because it was fun to see how Richard Kimbal eluded the police and solved the mystery of his murdered wife. And I liked The Italian Job because of the different approach the group took to robbing their old buddy. Firewall seemed like it was on the brink of a clever crime or a clever escape, but instead it got overwhelmed and did neither. I guess there's also the third alternative; some people probably like a good butt-kicking movie too, but in that area the movie also disappoints. Harrison Ford acts his age and looks more like an old man getting beat up, then any sort of tough guy.

What I find most interesting about this movie is that it's similar to an earlier movie, The Desperate Hours with Humphrey Bogart. Although The Desperate Hours is a much simpler plot, it did a better job of creating that sense of tension and fear and the acting is phenomenal. I also recently watched The Lake House and Il Mare, the movie it was based on. In both The Lake House and Firewall, it seems as if some American screenwriter saw a great plot, but wanted to update it and in the case of Il Mare, relocate it to an American setting, but what they failed to realize is that the time period in which the story is set is itself part of the story and what makes much of the plot believable.