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:

Everything He loves Is About To Be Used Against Him.

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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

Re-shoots/filming for additional scenes were done in November 2005 along the shores of Kamloops Lake in Kamloops, British Columbia. The front portion of the house had to be re-constructed because the set builders had torn down the house once filming was completed the previous spring.

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Goofs

When Jack exits the elevator at the beginning of the movie, we see what he sees through the pen's camera. We see a Dell USB keyboard attached to a computer. However, when the "real" camera pans to follow Jack around the bank he works at, the same keyboard magically becomes a multimedia keyboard, which the bank wouldn't be using anyway, because they use the card reader in the USB keyboard to read their employer's IDs.

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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 Getaway: Episode #15.3 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Tell Vicki"
Written by 'John Kastner (III)' and Dean Dallas Bentley
Performed by All Systems Go
By Arrangement with Big Sounds International and Redbird

User Reviews

One of the better thrillers out there

I saw that 'Firewall' was coming on TV a couple of nights ago and wanted to catch Harrison Ford in action, as I'm a huge fan of his and I had not seen this. I have to say I was fairly entertained by the film. The plot is not so much different from the other films of this genre, but what stands apart from the rest is Harrison Ford's and the antagonist, Bill Cox's very real performances and some clever twists.

Computer security specialist Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) works for the Seattle-based Landrock Pacific Bank. A trusted top-ranking executive, he has built his career and reputation on designing the most effective anti-theft computer systems in the industry, protecting the bank's financial holdings from the constant threat of increasingly sophisticated internet hackers with his complex network of tracers, access codes and firewalls. His regular life is put into turmoil after his family taken is taken hostage by Bill Cox and his cronies.

Even though most of the story was predictable, that doesn't mean it wasn't entertaining. It has everything you can ask - big explosions, smart thinking actors, great acting (only by Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany). Cox played by Paul Bettany was very unnerving as the calm, cold, collected and clever villain. He was ruthless in killing his own men to make his point. I mean that is fairly common in this genre, still it was pretty good. Jack's repeated attempts to try and save his family along with the money was good to see. You could look at his eyes and you can see how much he loves his family and how scared he is for them and really wants their safety more than anything. The little kid, Andy with the allergy and Jack's secretary, Janet Stone played by Mary Lynn Rajkub are also very good. The climax with the burning car was not so believable. But even so, this is a more than average thriller that you would want to see. A rating of 5.6 on IMDb? I am shocked. Come on people, this is so much better than that. I really enjoyed the movie immensely.

7/10