(2006)
2
Jeremy Wheeler
Harrison Ford mumbles and tumbles his way through Firewall, a bore of a hostage thriller that is as generic as they come. Time has not been good to Ford's filmography in almost a decade since 1997's Air Force One, whose similarities to this film couldn't be more apparent if you subtract the airplane and the high popcorn-chewing entertainment factor. Here, the aging star plays a computer genius(!) who specializes in security systems, which is misstep number one of the film. Not only is the actor completely unbelievable in the role, but he's also one wet blanket of a hero. It's as if Hollywood executives thought that all audiences need is for Indiana Jones to save his family and beat the living tar out of the bad guys for them to throw their hard-earned money down and make box-office showbiz dreams a reality. Well thankfully, it didn't work here. Firewall was a bust in its theatrical run, and it deserved every critical and commercial pan it received. Sure, there's a fine fight at the end that Ford, as usual, sells with every tough fiber of his physical being, but when the 20 minutes leading up to it amount to scene after scene of people driving in front of poorly realized green-screen effects, it tends to create an infuriating disconnect that can rarely be reversed. Accomplished director Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon, Richard III) was obviously out of his element here, though even then, nothing with a premise this rudimentary should have ever made to big-budget land. Entirely forgettable and unendingly drab, Firewall should be hacked out of existence for the good of future hostage flicks to come.
Firewall on AllMovie
Firewall (2006)
