I would personally like to thank whoever chose to place the relatively unknown former mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano in a top rate thriller with a host of other A-List actors. The formula worked quite well. I believe director Steven Soderbergh had something to do with it.
Haywire is a somewhat milky story, made better with fantastic acting and even better action. Mallory Kane (Carano) is some sort of a government/spy contractor, hired to pull off the most difficult of missions. In this case she is part of a mission to rescue a foreign hostage in Barcelona, when something goes wrong.
Carano is strongly supported by the likes of Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Bill Paxton and to a lesser extent Channing Tatum. They give Carano the credibility she needs, they also key up what would have otherwise been a B-thriller. I always question how a 20 something can be a trained, deadly and worldly superspy.
Yet, Mallory Kane is something like a predator in the wild. She is amazingly athletic and pulls off fighting stunts that echo of Bruce Lee. Carano plays her with wit, quickness and a humanity that makes her the most approachable trained killer you’ve ever met. Think the female version of Jason Bourne.
I’m not sure what the fixation of super bad female heroines in film is, but I would easily watch another sample of Mallory Kane over a Laura Croft, Alice, Catwoman, Jean Grey, She-ra, Powderpuff Girl or Kimpossible anyday. OK, maybe I know what the fixation is. I suppose Kane fits right in with the class that includes Lisbeth Salander, which helps this film rate much better than the average modern thriller.
