Swordfish 4K 2001

From the very beginning of the film, we hear Travolta's stunning monologue, analyzing the plot lines of classic heist movies. Then, after finishing his speech, he calmly (despite dozens of guns pointed at his back) leaves the restaurant and walks back to the bank, which he is apparently robbing. A little later, one of the most beautifully filmed explosions in cinema history takes place.

Having set such a fast pace, director Dominic Sena tries to maintain it throughout the film, although sometimes he does not succeed completely and the action begins to slow down, but only to impress the viewer with another action scene that takes your breath away (admittedly, John Travolta armed with a submachine gun in an Armani suit “putting out” a jeep coming towards him is pretty cool!).

But the film is not pure action, but rather a mixture of techno-thriller (I must admit, it's impossible for me to understand whether it's possible to crack a code the way Jackman's character does, or whether it's just showing off, but it looks intense and impressive, and what else do you need?), adventure detective story, and, in fact, action movie.

All the actors are in their right places. The slick playboy Travolta, the mega-hacker Jackman, the sex bomb Halle Berry, and the cool FBI agent Chidley earn their paychecks honestly. True, if you think about it, the film's screenwriter Skip Woods still fell into the hole he dug for himself - mocking Hollywood conventions, he himself built everything according to a typical pattern (good guy, bad guy, mysterious girl, and persistent agent), although it should be noted here that the final twist greatly improves the situation.

Overall: a fast-paced, beautifully shot spectacle with good actors and an unusual ending.