Firewall (2006)
Genre: Thriller
Format Viewed: DVD
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
Just in case we needed any more convincing that Indiana Jones 4 is going to suck something fierce…
And I should preface that by saying that I’m a fan of Harrison Ford’s in a big way, if not for the Star Wars gig, then most certainly for stellar trio of performances as the brilliant, thrill-seeking legend that is Indiana Jones. Over the years he’s done great at transitioning from adventurer to political adversary while still putting on a compelling show for the kiddies, but with the greatest respect, you just can’t deny that the guy ain’t getting any younger!
Maybe it’s just like anyone else who has a midlife crisis – you can’t believe that you’re getting older, so you buy the fancy sports car and you try to recreate that wild and crazy life which you probably never even actually had the first time around, and if you’re a movie star, you nab up the hard-core action roles to prove that you can still take a punch.
Except for the fact that you really are getting older, and you really can’t take a punch quite like good, old Indy could back in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Oh Harrison, how could you do this to us?! We understand that you’re simply not the whip-wielding hero that you were twenty years ago, and gosh darn it, we like you anyways, but please for the love of God, stop trying to be someone you’re not. That would be like Sylvester Stallone coming back to do another Rocky picture ten or fifteen years after the fact…
…ok, bad example…
But nonetheless, I think this film unfortunately just missed the boat on a number of different levels. The lead actor being thrust into an “action-packed” role, so to speak, was a mistake, but also it just felt to me that this flick really should’ve came out about ten years prior – around the time of The Net and all of the security hype on the newly-evolving Information Super Highway. Now maybe it’s just because I’m a huge geek and I know better, but the whole idea of conning the one guy who knows security better than anyone into hacking his way into his own system just seems a little far-fetched for me … at least for the 21st century, an age where 8 year-olds have cell phones and fiber-optic cable is being run to the curb in neighborhoods across America.
Would I watch it again if there was absolutely nothing else on at night and I couldn’t sleep? Probably. Would I recommend a friend go out of his way to check this one out? Unless he happened to have a thing for Mary Lynn Rajskub (the foxy Chloe from 24), I doubt it. For good, old-fashioned Harrison Ford, there are so many other better choices – whether you’re looking for the adventurer or the intellectual – and if you’re anything like me, you’d probably rather curl up with an old favorite than endure this painful coming-of-age tale for the Indiana Jones of tomorrow.
Stick to your guns, kids – glory comes in many forms and there’s nothing wrong with being the hero with your mind once the rest of the body loses its edge…
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