This past Friday, Haywire opened in movie theaters across the nation The movie, by famed director Steven Sodenbergh (Erin Brockovich Oceans 11), told the tale of a special agent trying to find out who and why she was double-crossed. The lead role was played by mixed martial arts super star Gina Carano, whom the film was written specifically for.
Leading up to the theatrical release, the movie had been very well received by critics and Carano, who was acting for the first time in her career, received very strong praise for her role. RottenTomatoes.com, a site which has become the standard in movie ratings on the internet, has ranked the movie at 86% among critics, but the movie only recieved a 56% ‘like’ rating from audiences.
In an article today for Entertainment Weekly, Aly Semigran questions why the movie was not a hit with audiences, arguing that the movie deserved more credit
Well, this is a kick in the pants. (And the face… and pretty much anywhere else Gina Carano could knock you on your butt clear into next week.) In addition to a less-than-impressive opening weekend at the box office, Steven Soderbergh’s well-reviewed action caper Haywire earned a dreadful, if not entirely baffling, D+ grade from CinemaScore.
The film, which has already earned plenty of comparisons to being a female version of the Bourne series, is complete with a knock-out leading lady who knocks out all of her leading men (see left: poor Ewan McGregor), Michael Fassbender (in a towel: A+!), Bill Paxton (with a mustache!), stunning action sequences (the hotel room, the snowy car chase), and a killer last line. So what gives?
While the mixed martial artist’s acting skills were certainly not as polished as her ability to destroy her competition (the first-time movie star, whose voice was altered for the film, noticeably took a lesson from the Kristen Stewart Lip Biting School of Acting), her character Mallory Kane was still, quite simply, a badass. It’s especially curious considering audiences had a hankering to watch some female butt-kicking, as Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld: Awakening topped the box office with an impressive $25.4 million and earned a superior A- CinemaScore grade.
