Three broken legs and a medal winner
A.I.**
(rated PG-13, 146 mins.)
This long-awaited, E.T.-flavored flick is director Steven Spielberg’s first since 1998’s Saving Private Ryan. Featuring The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment, the sci-fi fantasy focuses on the creation of an artificial being. Professor Hobby (William Hurt) of Crynogetics laboratories proposes to develop an intelligent sensory toy that can love, in the form of a child. Enter Henry and Monica (Sam Robbards and Frances O’Connor), who long for a child and are willing to try the experiment. Once imprinted with a special code, the robo-kid becomes yours for life—and that’s putting it mildly. Jude Law plays a sidekick role as the convincingly robotic Gigolo Joe. Though Spielberg infuses A.I. with the ingenious charm of E.T. and Close Encounters, something is missing from this modern-day Pinocchio. The story, which starts out alright, becomes disproportionately dramatic and overly drawn out. Dragging on for more than two hours, the film leaves parents squirming and kids kicking seats in front of them.
SWORDFISH**
(rated PG-13, 100 mins.)
Swordfish opens with an engaging scene in which Gabriel Shear (John Travolta) appears to be involved in a bank heist. Is he the good guy? Is he the bad guy? Handsome Stuart Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is the world’s most famous hacker, previously wanted on 27 counts of electronic crimes and labeled the 1998 Wired magazine’s hacker of the year. To the delight of saucy Ginger (Halle Berry), Shear’s assistant, Jobson is hired to help her boss pull off a heist. Though the hacker had hoped to stay clean, he takes on the assignment to earn money for the legal fees needed to get custody of his daughter, Holly (Camryn Grimes). Agent Roberts (Don Cheadle) previously headed the largest criminal cyber task force and now attempts to stop a campaign to harm the Department of Defense. Suddenly operation Swordfish turns into a strong line that is part Speed, part Dog Day Afternoon and part ridiculous. There are plenty of twists and turns, mind you, but somehow they are overshadowed by a sappy sub-plot and a lame flashback opening used as a hook to reel in the audience. Swordfish starts as a fresh catch, but decays quickly into a smelly fish.
THE CONTENDER****
(rated R, 120 mins.)
The Contender is a thriller that examines political power plays. But, unlike its predecessors, The Seduction of Joe Tynan or All the President’s Men, this story delivers a special twist. How much information about our leaders should be on public record? And, what if that leader is a woman? Jeff Bridges plays the President in search of a running mate in Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), a U.S. Senator. The selection meets with opposition from members of both parties, in particular a powerful political adversery played by Gary Oldman, who delivers his usual outstanding, over-the-top character study. As secrets from Hanson’s fraternity days at Harvard are delivered, the parties attempt to smear the senator. Yet, she refuses to kiss and tell. Christian Slater portrays young Congressman Webster, a patriotic go-getter torn between what’s right, what’s wrong and what’s going to get him that promotion into the Oval Office. From its intense opening to its surprising conclusion, The Contender emphasizes just how much politicians thrive on public recognition. Visual and verbal metaphors balance well with some funny lines, including Allen’s “If sex is being used for leverage, the one thing you don’t want is a woman who isn’t getting laid with her finger on the button.” It’s smooth, it’s intelligent and it should have been part of last year’s Oscar buzz.
A KNIGHT'S TALE*
(rated PG-13, 132 mins.)
Fans of Patriot star Heath Ledger eagerly awaited the release of A Knight’s Tale—until the reviews began coming out. Clearly designed as a teen-attracting, star-making vehicle, the film’s soundtrack will sell well with its “he will rock you” tag line. In this story of 14th-century England, the inappropriately cheery song blasts through early scenes of noble competitions that are otherwise meant to be taken seriously. Obviously Oscar winner L.A. Confidential director Brian Helgeland thought that combining today’s rockin’ hits with peasants, jousting and merry maidens—and a goofy script, which includes such “hip” lines as “Geoffrey Chaucer’s the name, writing’s the game”—is marketably cute. If you feel Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town” fails to provide the atmosphere needed to make you believe this is supposed to take place in 1360, you’d better stay at home or you’ll seethe through all 132 minutes of this ridiculous film.
