Review of "Swordfish," DVD version

Review of

Swordfish, DVD version

Five out of five stars

 There are four bona fide stars in this movie and they mesh well with no one overwhelming any of the others. John Travolta plays a ruthless man that appears to be outside the law but may not be. There are indications that he is in fact a U. S. deep cover government operative with a license to kill in order to complete his missions. Collateral deaths are an acceptable consequence of his actions.

Hugh Jackman plays the best computer hacker in the world that is recruited against his will to work for the Travolta character. Halle Berry is the person that recruits the Jackman character and we are led to believe that she is in fact an undercover government operative. Don Cheadle plays a genuine FBI agent that is trying to determine what is actually going on. He is the one that arrested the Jackman character for the crime that sent him to prison.

The goal of the Travolta character is to steal several billion dollars and his tactics are most unusual, he stages what appears to be an old-fashioned bank robbery with hostages and a demand for a getaway plane. That is clever misdirection, the ultimate escape is a thing of deceptive beauty.

 The performances are all first rate, the storyline is unpredictable and there is a great deal of tension. The best performance is John Travolta as the ruthless, yet at times ethical “villain.”