Swordfish (2001)

Director:

Dominic Sena

Writer (WGA):

Skip Woods (written by)

Release Date:

8 June 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

Log on. Hack in. Go anywhere. Steal everything.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Computer | Terrorism | Hostage | Told In Flashback | Flashback

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

John Travolta	...	Gabriel Shear
Hugh Jackman	...	Stanley Jobson
Halle Berry	...	Ginger Knowles
Don Cheadle	...	Agent J.T. Roberts
Sam Shepard	...	Senator James Reisman
Vinnie Jones	...	Marco
Drea de Matteo	...	Melissa
Rudolf Martin	...	Axl Torvalds
Zach Grenier	...	Assistant Director Bill Joy
Camryn Grimes	...	Holly Jobson
Angelo Pagan	...	Torres (as Angelo Pagán)
Chic Daniel	...	SWAT Leader
Kirk B.R. Woller	...	Axel's Lawyer
Carmen Argenziano	...	Agent
Tim DeKay	...	Agent

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #38324) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Denmark:15 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Philippines:R-18 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Belasco Theatre - 1060 S. Hill Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Jonathan Krane Group

Trivia:

At one point during Stanley's attempt to hack into the Department of Defense database, his screen shows six numbers that appear to be IP addresses. (The first is 213.225.312.5.) The numbers between decimal points in an IP address, called "octets", are decimal representations of 8-bit numbers (8 binary digits of either 0 or 1). Therefore, the range of decimal numbers for an octet is 0 to 255, because 11111111 in binary is 255 in decimal. The IP addresses on Stanley's screen each contain one octet higher than 255 (such as 312 in the first example), which is apparently the filmmakers' way of ensuring that no one's real IP address appeared.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Axl is shot through one-way glass in the interrogation room. This glass would most likely be bullet-proof.

Quotes:

Stanley: It's not gonna end like this.
Gabriel: Oh, come on, Stan. Not everything ends the way you think it should. Besides, audiences love happy endings.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (#1.4)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Lapdance (Paul Oakenfold Swordfish Mix)

Cool, Slick and Sexy

What is the highest pressure job interview you've ever had?

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