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Firewall [2006]
from Warner Home Video
starring Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Alan Arkin, Robert Forster, Joe Forte
directed by Richard Loncraine

Features:

• PAL

Editorial Review:

Harrison Ford, bluntly, has seen better days. While once again he gives a tough, gruff performance in the leading role of a Hollywood thriller, the material around him in the case of Firewall is a far cry from what we used to expect of one of Hollywood's most enduring leading men.

It's still fun in its own way, though. Ford is the leader of the technical security team at his local bank, and finds his life is turned upside down when firstly his identity is compromised, and then his family are kidnapped. The kidnappers, led by Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Wimbledon) swiftly demand his help to extract $100m, only for Ford to gradually become more and more reluctant to play ball, with predictably fractious results.

It's a fairly by-the-numbers plot at work here, temporarily livened by some interesting set pieces and decent performances by the cast. Yet an unfocused script and an overblown running time mean the film amounts to being little more than a throwaway thriller, ideal fodder for an easy night-in, assuming you've no wish to remember much about it the morning after. By Ford's own standards, that's not great, but it's the best that's on offer here. --Simon Brew

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

• Fire Hazzard!
  Firewall is probably Harrison Ford's worst film, and he has made some excellent movies in the past, like Frantic, The Indiana Jones series, The Fugitive and many more, but this sadly isn't one. It's not Harrison that's the bad thing; a combination of annoying bad guys and bad plot make this rather cringe worthy. The worst thing about it all is the bad guys, they really are just poor beyond belief. I'm surprised Jack Stanfield didn't punch this guy!
  The gist is quite simple: some guys come and kidnap... more info

• good family entertainment
  I think this is a very good family thriller although one might argue it's possibly a little violent for a 12 certificate. Still, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Young (?) Harrison may seem a tiny bit out of place in some of the (very few) action sequences but it's all just about believable and keeps the story going.
  It's not a great film but I really don't think it deserves the heavy and elaborate criticisms noted elsewhere. It's admittedly formulaic but parents can feel comfortable watching... more info

• "Oh my God, what you do want?"
  After a promising start, this film loses its way and ends up being a slightly below average thriller. The premise is definitely intriguing: a group of men holds hostage the family of the VP of Security of a bank and want him to transfer $100 million from various accounts into their offshore egg nest, in exchange for his family safety. The problem is that after establishing the basic premise, the story gets convoluted and quickly moves towards the realm of the unbelievable, with some situations that are... more info

• HIGHLY WATCHABLE THRILLER IF YOU CAN IGNORE THE CLICHES' AND SOME ASPECTS OF THE PLOT
  If you are looking for a good thriller, not too violent/swearing, good paced and keep you hooked then Firewall delivers. Harrison Ford plays a fairly stereotype role for him, succesful husband, with kids then something goes wrong and he ends up embroiled in a situation and needs to save his family. The plot starts off quite well but lacks certain depth, before tailing off into a rather unlikely sequence of putting bank's money ahead of his family, before building to a non inspiring finale. Predictable... more info

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