Gina Carano (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)If you thought Hollywood's leading men were the only ones capable of realistic fight scenes, you may want to reconsider.
Steven Soderbergh's newest film "Haywire" stars Strikeforce lightweight Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, a former Marine under contract with a private company that performs the undesirable and covert work of the United States government. That work turns messy, which means that audience is treated to more than 90 minutes of Caran's kicks and punches landing squarely on the jaws of her antagonists.
The movie is filled with big-name Hollywood actors, none on-screen more than Mallory's boss Kenneth, played by Ewan McGregor, a former lover who sends the soon-to-retire Kane on one last job. He's being led in the task by the government, represented by the sometimes avuncular, but often-distant Michael Douglas. Michael Fassbender ("Inglorious Basterds" and "Shame"), Channing Tatum ("Fighter") and Antonio Banderas ("Zoro") round out the Soderbergh-like ensemble cast.
The movie opens with Mallory disposing of former associate Aaron, played by Channing Tatum, at a roadside diner in upstate New York. After proving capable of whipping the movie's first threat, Mallory nabs a hostage and his car and drives away quickly lavishing upon her hostage the events of the past eight days, which the audience is treated to in a series of location-based flashbacks in the cities of Dublin, San Diego, and most importantly, Barcelona. We are quickly weaved through the details of Mallory's relationship with Kenneth, a man named Paul, and several other single-named characters, each inching the plot along to the inevitable "... and now I'm here" line by Mallory.
The plot is weak and the story isn't airtight, but what Soderbergh saw in Carano as a lead actress in an action movie is something that cannot be ignored. She's authentically tough, in much the same way Soderbergh's male muse George Clooney (Oceans 11, 12, 13) is effortlessly charismatic and charming. What Clooney can do with a smirk and swig of whiskey, Carano can do with her leather boots and spinning back kick
Carano's athletic gifts and years of MMA training lend her and the movie a physical credibility missing among almost all of today's female action stars. Where others grit their teeth for high-kicks pulled from Bruce Lee films, Carano's techniques mirror that of the legitimate MMA world.
Forget the kicking and erase from your memory the broken necks and subdued agents of evil; Gina Carano's Mallory Kane is more than moxie and MMA fight skills -- she's also a runner.
The movie "Salt" was ruined when audiences were forced to believe that Angelina Jolie ran away successfully avoiding capture, although her gait made her look incompetent. Female-led action movies are filled with these moments where audiences are confronted with the realization they are suspending reality to enjoy a movie where Jolie trots down the freeway away from men with machine guns and onward to freedom. It doesn't scan.
Prior to Carano's starring role in "Haywire" women had been underrepresented as realistic ass-kickers in action movies. Jolie, Kate Beckinsale, and Halle Berry have each had stints as flesh-bearing fighters, but none of the thin-armed debutants ever convinced the audience they could whip your uncle in a fistfight. Carano, the kicks, the punches, even falls felt realistic -- there is little doubt that given proper motivation Carano could do subdue lithe Michael Fassbender's character Paul, or your burly and macho family members.
"Haywire" takes time to develop its plot, but the patience Soderbergh expects from his audience in following its twists and turns is transferred to fight scenes that are equally paced. That patience is an achievement during a movie-making age dependent on misleading Flash!-Bang!-Switch-Bang!-Flash! fight scenes of the Bourne trilogies.
Carano's physical authenticity in portraying Mallory is in contrast to her inability to provide equally exciting or believable dialogue. Carano is a young actress and as of yet has not mastered the art of make-believe quite as well as her co-stars, often delivering her lines with much less force than her up-kicks and right crosses. Carano's not void of talent and showcases sufficient dialogue with McGregor's Kenneth -- her former lover in the film. The duo's on-screen rapport gives the audience a brief reprieve and holds promise for the actress' future.
Though "Haywire" fails in delivering believable dialogue, it recovers by setting free ahh-worthy fight scenes that command attention.
For moviegoers who have not yet made the commitment to obsess over MMA, Carano's fight scenes might be vaguely reminiscent of those from the "Sherlock Holmes" franchise, where director and jiu-jitsu practitioner Guy Ritchie often adds submission techniques to his fights. What sets "Haywire" and Carano apart from those male-driven movies isn't just femininity, but the technical reliability of Carano's craft and the consistency by which Soderbergh showcases it across each of the dozen plus fight scenes.
All street fights end up on the ground, something Soderbergh must have realized as he avoided forcing his characters into a stand-and-trade moments that make most fight fans scoff. He and Carano further maintain their legitimacy by not being over-exuberant in showcasing Carano's grappling talents (I'm sure she knows a heel hook, but how realistic is that when there are guns around?) Instead we see rear-naked chokes, arm bars and triangles -- each capped by MMA-worthy ground-and-pound.
Carano's striking also comes across realistic, if at times briefly exaggerated. The pistol-whipping and Superman punches that seem gratuitous at least come in situations where they seem plausible. Better still, Carano's Mallory rarely resorts to the type of instant fight-MacGyver that became popular in the post-Bourne world of action sequences. It's refreshing to watch a fight where the protagonist doesn't have to employ logic-defying reaction times, or beat his enemy to a pulp with a dish towel and a number two pencil. Though there are moments of overkill, Mallory hits clean, and she hits hard -- subduing opponents through aggression, usually without having to fire a shot ... usually.
"Haywire" is a movie built around the capable fighting skills of Carano and the sometimes slow, but always thoughtful pacing of Soderbergh. Fans of MMA and action movies shouldn't expect a mystery as much as they should a series of incredible fight scenes, starring a less-than-kitsch type fighting by an actress who knows to stand-and-trade just as well as she can turn-and-run.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now