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Swordfish (2001)
6.4
Ratings: 6.4/10 from 89,521 users
Metascore:
32/100
Reviews: 519 user | 153 critic | 33 from Metacritic.com A secretive renegade counter-terrorist co-opts the world's greatest hacker (who is trying to stay clean) to steal billions in US Government dirty money. Director:Dominic SenaWriter:Skip Woods |
| Watch Trailer |
99 min - 
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4 wins
&
6 nominations
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| John Travolta | ... | ||
| Hugh Jackman | ... | ||
| Halle Berry | ... | ||
| Don Cheadle | ... | ||
| Sam Shepard | ... |
Senator James Reisman
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| Vinnie Jones | ... | ||
| Drea de Matteo | ... |
Melissa
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| Rudolf Martin | ... | ||
| Zach Grenier | ... |
Assistant Director Bill Joy
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| Camryn Grimes | ... |
Holly Jobson
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| Angelo Pagan | ... |
Torres
(as Angelo Pagán)
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| Chic Daniel | ... |
SWAT Leader
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| Kirk B.R. Woller | ... |
Axel's Lawyer
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| Carmen Argenziano | ... |
Agent
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| Tim DeKay | ... |
Agent
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Storyline
When the DEA shut down its dummy corporation operation codenamed SWORDFISH in 1986, they had generated $400 million which they let sit around; fifteen years of compound interest has swelled it to $9.5 billion. A covert counter-terrorist unit called Black Cell, headed by the duplicitious and suave Gabriel Shear, wants the money to help finance their raise-the-stakes vengeance war against international terrorism, but it's all locked away behind super-encryption. He brings in convicted hacker Stanley Jobson, who only wants to see his daughter Holly again but can't afford the legal fees, to slice into the government mainframes and get the money. Written by Jeff Cross <blackjac_1998@yahoo.com>
Plot Summary | Plot SynopsisPlot Keywords:
Computer | Terrorism | Shot In The Chest | Disguise | Alexandria Virginia | See more »Taglines:
Password Accepted See more »Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality/nudity See all certifications »Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
(USA) See more »Also Known As:
Passwort: Swordfish See more »Filming Locations:
Belasco Theatre - 1060 S. Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »Box Office
Budget:
$80,000,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
$18,145,632 (USA) (10 June 2001) (2678 Screens)Gross:
$69,772,969 (USA) (16 September 2001)Company Credits
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Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
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?
See more »
website game. (See Trivia). A Vernam cypher is a method of encrypting
a message. See more »
Written by Andrew Spence
Performed by Organic Audio
Courtesy of Tummy Touch Records Ltd./Nettwerk Productions See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
The original screenplay draft had a very different take on the Gabriel Shear character. He was first written as a mercenary whose plan for the stolen DEA funds had him joining forces with military and intelligence figures and planning to destroy corrupt politicians, and had several lengthy monologues in which U.S. agents listened to him and then joined his crusade on the spot. While the funding/covert war angle was maintained, Skip Woods later remade Gabriel Shear into a patriotic agent who seeks to destroy world terrorists, and who kills the Senator and his aide for trying to kill him and stop his plans. See more »Goofs
Continuity: When Ginger first arrives at Stanley's trailer, as she pulls up and gets out, he puts a golf ball on the tee and stares at her. Then as she comes up to him he puts a golf ball on the tee again and stares at her as if he just noticed her. See more »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?
See more »
Crazy Credits
The last credit reads "Final Password: Vernam", which is part of thewebsite game. (See Trivia). A Vernam cypher is a method of encrypting
a message. See more »
Soundtracks
"Play to the Music"Written by Andrew Spence
Performed by Organic Audio
Courtesy of Tummy Touch Records Ltd./Nettwerk Productions See more »
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