Richard Loncraine: The '00s
The Gathering Storm
My House in Umbria
Wimbledon
Firewall (February 10/06)
Given the less-than-enthusiastic reception of his last two flicks, Hollywood Homicide and K-19: The Widowmaker, it doesn't seem all that surprising that Harrison Ford is returning to the genre with which he's had the most success. Firewall casts Ford as Jack Stanfield, a high-ranking executive who must surreptitiously rob his own bank in order to save the lives of his wife and two children (kidnappers, led by Paul Bettany, are holding them captive). Richard Loncraine's serviceable if entirely uninspired directorial choices - ie he'll break out the ol' shaky cam during confrontational sequences - lend Firewall the feel of a generic thriller, albeit one with better-than-expected performances and a finale that's almost worth the price of admission. And although Ford is clearly getting a little too old for this sort of thing, there's no denying that the actor is completely within his element here (at the very least, Ford is still the master of growling at villainous thugs). If it weren't for an overlong running time and some seriously erratic pacing, there's no doubt that Firewall - plot holes and all - would rank right up there with some of Ford's best work in the genre (ie The Fugitive and Air Force One).
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