Gina Carano had a celebrated mixed martial arts career and was one of the sport’s biggest icons, regardless of gender.
Now, she’s trying her luck in Hollywood, starring in director Steven Soderbergh’s newest film, “Hawyire.”
And what a perfect combination they make. Soderbergh, with his documented history of action thrillers such as “Traffic” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” directs another solid thriller that also includes an impressive theatrical debut by Carano.
Carano plays Mallory Kane, a name that sounds innocent enough but in reality is anything but.
Kane, an ex-Marine and black ops solider employed by the government, goes rogue after she is double-crossed by once-trusted government agents in an overseas assignment.
Using spy tactics and vicious fighting skills, she stops at nothing to try to bring down the people who betrayed her.
Carano, a former MMA fighter, is responsible for most of her own stunts in the movie. For this reason, the action scenes in the film look a lot more fluid and realistic than if they were done by any other actress.
In fact, most male stuntmen couldn’t pull off half the stunts she successfully performs in “Haywire.”
As good as those stunts are, however, the same cannot be said about the narrative. It’s a little messy and convoluted at times. Half of the story is told in flashback and the other half isn’t.
Although this film will be mostly known for the action scenes and Carano’s gritty performance, Soderbergh fails in delivering a well-structured plot.
If you can manage to stay patient with the plot, however, you will find “Haywire” to be somewhat rewarding. It won’t blow you away like one of Soderbergh’s better films would, but it will at least give you the best theatrical viewing experience of the calendar year.
Although that’s not really saying much with Hollywood’s Dead Zone months in January and February.
