Harrison Ford's latest action film is far from groundbreaking. His role as the weathered hero who will do just about anything to protect his family -- hack into a computer, defy the police, confront a terrorist -- has already been tried and tested in his earlier works such as The Devil's Own and Patriot Games. Yet Firewall is well-cast and makes for a watchable thriller despite its unremarkable premise.
Ford is Jack Stanfield, a bank security specialist whose life is abruptly hijacked by a syndicate of criminals. Their plan is to use his position to embezzle money from bank customers while holding his family hostage in their own home. The mastermind is Bill Cox, played by Paul Bettany to chilly perfection. Jack begins in defiant compliance to Cox's demand to "do everything I tell you" under threat of his wife and children's lives. The stakes get higher when he risks his own integrity and job to turn the tables on Cox's gang.
Cox's constant monitoring begins to form nuanced, effective rents in Jack's world. This is apparent in the stiffness with which Jack enters his office and foregoes the morning ritual of greeting his secretary. His daughter's rigid countenance speaks volumes as she sits in her bedroom, guarded by a gang member who lounges casually at her desk while using her pink iPod, no less.
Technology is insightfully transformed from the source of security Jack is accustomed to at home and at work into that of potential dangers and weapons for the enemy. Cox's crew watches over every room in the house via computer screens, echoing the frightening absurdity with which the family is imprisoned from the inside. His young son is swiftly pinned to the floor when he makes the innocent mistake of answering the ringing house phone, nearly giving away the gang's presence in their home.
The set-up makes for a taut and promising opening. It is unfortunately discarded as Jack's wife and children are suddenly removed from the house for no apparent plot-related reason. At this point, the film loses focus and originality. This predictably culminates in Jack following the kidnappers on a cross-country chase, cajoling, threatening and blackmailing in a manner not unlike Cox himself. Deaths pile up, side-stories are left hanging and, by the end, Jack is as guilty of murder and deception as the baddies he tries to overcome. The harmonious conclusion where the family is reunited proves befuddling in its lack of closure. But this is an action thriller, not an ambiguous moral tale. The question is whether Firewall actually lives up to the promise of its genre.
An unshakeable sense that the film is simply a bankable update of the 'Harrison Ford action flick' is underscored by the casting of Virginia Madsen (Sideways) and Bettany (A Beautiful Mind). Yet their capable presence contributes generously to the film. Bettany, in particular, takes on the role of a villain that, on paper, would have seemed downright predictable in his uncompromising ruthlessness. He, however, manages to impart Cox with humor and graceful timing.
Ultimately, Firewall is a completely straightforward action film and focuses on being one. Uneven pacing and generic plot, however, make for a considerably flawed effort.
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