Swordfish

2001 Mystery & Suspense

Director Dominic Sena follows up his stylish action film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with this high-tech thriller. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear, a charismatic spy who plots to steal a multi-billion-dollar fortune in illegal government funds. In order to make his scheme work, however, Gabriel needs some help from a computer hacker, which is where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) comes in. Stanley has been paroled from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for penetrating the FBI's cyber-surveillance operations. Issued a restraining order that keeps him away from computers and living penniless in a trailer park, Stanley wants only to be reunited with his daughter Holly, who's in the custody of his ex-wife, now remarried to a pornographer. Gabriel and his partner Ginger (Halle Berry) offer Stanley the chance to get his child back in exchange for his help, but the hacker soon realizes he's a pawn in a larger operation than the high-tech bank heist he thought he was perpetrating. In the meantime, a dedicated federal agent (Don Cheadle), the same man who once arrested Stanley, is trying to expose Gabriel's operation. Swordfish also stars Sam Shepard and Zach Grenier. more..

Director: Dominic Sena

Starring: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones

Reviews

  • A good movie? Hardly. But more than enough to pass a dog day afternoon.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • It's skillfully mounted and fitfully intriguing, but weaves such a tangled web that at the end I defy anyone in the audience to explain the exact loyalties and motives of the leading characters.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • So much luck is pressed with an absurdly overblown finale that 60 seconds will likely be Swordfish's shelf life after a couple of noisy opening weekends.

    Mike Clark - USA Today

    27 April 2013

  • A high-impact, high-powered mess that raises the bar for over-the-topness.

    Jay Carr - The Boston Globe

    27 April 2013

  • This lurid thriller comes to life in fits and starts, and then sinks into the bog of its own cleverness once again.

    Bob Graham - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress

    BET Awards (2002)

  • Paul Oakenfold

    BMI Film & TV Awards (2002)

  • Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

    Image Awards (2002)

  • Worst Actor of the Decade

    Razzie Awards (2010)

     
  • Best Driving

    World Stunt Awards (2002)