Firewall (2006)

A security specialist is forced into robbing the bank that he's protecting, as a bid to pay off his family's ransom.

Director:

Richard Loncraine

Writer:

Joe Forte

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen, Carly Schroeder

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Harrison Ford	...	Jack Stanfield
Virginia Madsen	...	Beth Stanfield
Carly Schroeder	...	Sarah Stanfield
Jimmy Bennett	...	Andy Stanfield
Gail Ann Lewis	...	Bank Employee #1
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Janet Stone
Matthew Currie Holmes	...	Bobby
Candus Churchill	...	Betty
David Lewis	...	Rich
Zahf Paroo	...	Ravi
Robert Forster	...	Harry Romano
Robert Patrick	...	Gary Mitchell
Alan Arkin	...	Arlin Forester
Pat Jenkinson	...	Laurie
Eric Keenleyside	...	Alan Hughes

Storyline

With his family held for ransom, the head security executive for a global bank is commanded to loot his own business for millions in order to ensure his wife and children's safety. He then faces the demanding task of thwarting the kidnapper's grand scheme, which makes him look guilty of embezzlement.

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Plot Keywords:

bank | meeting | architect | cayman islands | murder | 

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Taglines:

They're Already Inside

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence, and for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [br] Warner Bros. [de]

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Wrong Element

Filming Locations:

Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$115,451 (South Africa) (28 April 2006)

Gross:

$48,745,150 (USA) (12 May 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, Beacon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Equifax, one of the most known risk management companies in the world and which is in the New York Stock Exchange, was a special consultant for the film's director, actors and producers.

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Goofs

After Jack gets to the house by the water, he's in a fight that catches a car on fire. Burning tires produce a lot of thick black smoke. But after he rescues his family, as they are walking away from the house, there is no smoke rising from where the car should be.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bill Cox: [off-screen] Hello Jack.

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Crazy Credits

In Loving Memory Patricia McQueeney

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Connections

Featured in Martha: Episode dated 16 February 2006 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Jack's Blues"
Written and Performed by Will Kaplan

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: Firewall

I was quite surprised that Massive Attack's Angel was chosen to accompany the opening credits, which consisted for mostly CCTV / voyeuristic shots of a team conducting surveillance on the movements of Harrison Ford's Jack Stanfield and his family. I know it's a cool track, but Angel is perhaps becoming one of the more overused tracks in Hollywood pictures already.

But it hints well at what Firewall is going to become. Cliché and overused sequences which will probably make you scream "haven't I seen this somewhere before"? Firewall offered nothing very new in terms of plot outline, as it contains modified scenes from even Ford's own works like Air Force One (the family's survival being threatened, and it's up to one man to save the day) and The Fugitive (the frame up and one man's run from the law). Ford has already become comfortable in the role of an all-American one man hero, that this role offered no surprises at all.

It's basically standard fare with the usual chases and action fight sequences. Stansfield is a VP of (network) security of a bank, and has designed the bank's software, with other operational duties like making sure the bank can respond to external online threats. However, as the saying goes, almost 80% of intrusion are committed knowingly or unknowingly from the inside, and with a head honcho part of the act, you can be sure that he has the know-how to siphon out cash if he wants to.

In comes Bill Cox (Paul Bettany), scheming con man, who with his team of merry men, take Stanfield's family hostage and lapses into the usual psycho-mumbo-jumbo routine. With the family's antics at escaping, you really wonder if Cox, as a villain, has what it takes to call the shots in a hostage situation. While he might have the upper hand, it's his weakness in being ruthless to the hostages that proved his downfall, and make him a very weak cinematic villain. Here's someone who would rather shoot at his own men than to teach them hostages a lesson. Probably he has this noble subscription to "women and children first". And it doesn't help when there's the usual good guy amongst his merry men who offers the family sympathy points.

Word of caution though, for those who might think that this film offers some cool technology on screen. Leave the techno-babble at the door, there's no "firewall" to hack into in the first place, and the "hacking" is actually a no-brainer. And unless the USA offers wireless internet access like everywhere, it's pretty incredible with what a laptop can do in the movie.

It has your expected twists and seemingly smart moments, but nothing that will truly make you go "wow". The fist fight choreography can get pretty intense, however, there's no need to reach the end of the road before you know who's gonna emerge tops. It isn't exactly a bad movie, but one which doesn't even have a single sequence that can redeem this picture from really bad mediocrity.