*I 8A - Monday, January 23, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 8A - Monday, January 23, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom FILM REVIEW Soderbergh slips up FiLM REVIEW Biopic carried by Streep Star-studded 'Haywire' trods along without a plot By ADITI MISHRA Daily Arts Writer Actors seem to share a mag- netic connection with Steven Soderbergh ("Contagion") these days - oh wait, they always have. From "Ocean's Eleven" in 2001 to last year's At Quality16 "Contagion," and Rave everyone, from Brad Pitt Relativity Media ("Moneyball") to the venerable Kate Winslet ("Carnage"), has flocked to work with Soderbergh in films flood- ed with A-list actors. And that's probably because he tends to deliver. The snappy scripts, mys- terious cinematography and cool soundtracks that have come to define Soderbergh's films almost always pay off at the box office and beyond. That is, of course, almost always. Not this time. It's painful and pitiful to admit "Haywire" lacks the style and elegance of a Soderbergh feature - so much so that even Michael Douglas ("Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"), Ewan McGregor ("Begin- ners") and Hollywood's newest obsession Michael Fassbender ("Shame") couldn't make this film the slightest bit intriguing. Nei- ther could the mystery and antici- pation surrounding the casting of MMA fighter Gina Carano in the lead role. Yeah, the girl had some great action sequences that she no doubt orchestrated. But looking past the fight scenes and Carano herself, the movie really has noth- ingsubstantial to offer. At a closer glance, the prob- lem with "Haywire" is quite "This is howI tell people I care." simple: It lacks a plot. And that's truly disappointing because Soderbergh's ventures usually have a lot more than just star- studded casts - they're also identified by those little myste- rious twists that make his films so captivating to watch. More disappointing is that this film had so much potential for some smartly placed twists and turns. In spite of its ridiculously large and supremely talented cast, "Haywire" revolves around Carano's character Mallory. It's a tad bit ironic, seeing as Carano is the least talented actor (but she's not an actress, so can we blame her?). Mallory gets caught up in her employer's "mysteri- ous" plot to kill her and is forced to make a hasty escape. She's sent on a mission to rescue a kidnapped journalist in Barce- lona, but little does she know that it's all a scheme to convict her of other people's crimes. At this point, you might ask for the motives behind such a devi- ous conspiracy. But in this film, there are none. Except money, maybe, but that's definitely not a compelling premise on which to base a two-and-a-half hour film. The rest of the film has Mal- lory hunting down those who wronged her, leading to the untimely death of almost all of the film's remaining characters. McGregor, Fassbender, Douglas and Channing Tatum ("Dear John") apparently agreed to play some of the most insignifi- cant characters of their careers - a testament to the power of Soderbergh's credibility (which might, after this film, come under a little bit of scrutiny). To say the talents of such big names were wasted would be an under- statement. At the end of the day, Soder- bergh only had eyes for Carano. Her daring moves were the sole reason that half the audience didn't walk out of the cinema. But Soderbergh should have realized that she isn't enough to drive a film. There was action, but no story. Why were the bad guys after Mallory? Why did they conspire against their best agent? These were the questions the voice in the trailer asked, but the film failed to answer. "Haywire" had neither the special effects of an action film nor the story of a thriller. Ulti- mately, it was a mediocre attempt at an "Ocean's"-meets-"Bourne" enterprise that did nothing for anybody involved. It's at this point that Mallory's most cheesy and annoyingly unforgettable line comes to mind: "You better run." From this film, definitely. ByAKSHAY SETH Daily Arts Writer Can impersonation be so good that it bends the line separating fact and fiction? So brutally hon- est that it incites more questions than it attempts to answer? As The Iron Meryl Streep Lady ("Doubt") con- firms in "The At Qualityl6 Iron Lady," and Rave we really can be brought to The Weinstein question what Company we know - or think we know - to be fact. No doubt about it: Meryl Streep is freaking awesome. But no mat- ter how well-executed the por- trayal of its protagonist, "The Iron Lady" is a dull and scattered affair. Director Phyllida Lloyd ("Mama Mia"), in an attempt to create a balanced depiction of Margaret Thatcher, spends too much time focusing on the incon- sequential aspects of the former Prime Minister's life. We get too much about the husband and chil- dren Thatcher left behind and virtually nothing concerning the polarizing political policies she put in place as the first female leader of Great Britain. And it's unfortunate, because the same gender stigmas Thatch- er challenged with her appoint- ment are painfully apparent in this movie. The telling of a male leader's story wouldn't require ceaseless commentary about his shortcomings as a father and hus- band. Nor would it breeze over the better part of said leader's politi- cal undertakings via a meaning- less montage sequence. But in "The Iron Lady," that's exactly what happens, leaving the audience with a typical rags-to- riches story of a grocer's daughter going off to college, and eventu- ally, tentatively dipping her foot into the political arena. 01 "lve switched to contacts." The film is a tedious, boiler- character never shows up, and all plate biopic that takes itself too we're left with is Lloyd's agoniz- seriously and struggles to hold ingly deliberate style of direction. on to our attention as it stumbles The constantly moving cam- across the finish line. The most era and changing line of vision frustrating part is that it wouldn't seem intriguing at first but begin have been completely meaning- looking more and more forced as less if Lloyd and screenwriter Abi the film progresses. By the time Morgan ("Shame") spent some we get to the last few scenes, the time adding life to Thatcher's sur- dialogue feels suffocated - a con- roundings. sequence of heavy-handed direc- tion that doesn't allow the script a chance to flow naturally. And M argaret once the end credits roll, we end up feelingsad for two reasons: for Thatcher's life the seven perfectly good dollars we'll never get back again, and for without its the Oscar-worthy performance by Streep that goes to utter waste in spark. the hands of an average director and an unexceptional script. Undoubtedly, Streep's por- trayal will leave a lasting impact If there was a character other on anyone who watches this film than Thatcher's dead husband and has some recollection of how (Jim Broadbent, "Harry Potter galvanizing a figure Margaret and the Deathly Hallows") - Thatcher really was. Unfortu- whose ghost shows up from time nately, the discerning character to time to offer sage advice - that analysis we've come to expect had been thoughtfully developed, from Streep isn't enough to make the film could've gone in a dif- this film anything more than a ferent direction. Sadly, such a dreary symbol of mediocrity. in Central Michigan University can help you out! 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