Firewall

Harrison Ford compares well with, say, Tom Cruise when it comes to this kind of movie (or most kinds, probably) even if at about 62 when filming happened he’s getting a little long in the tooth to be a daddy with kids in the single digit age range. Plus, motion and momentum are necessary but not sufficient factors in a thriller–technobabble and handwaving don’t get the job done given the level of awareness of computer security in 2006.

Firewall pits Ford as head of technology for a newly-acquired regional bank against Paul Bettany using the Office Space-ish idea of skimming small enough not to be noticed amounts from many large accounts, except Bettany’s crew have Ford’s wife (Virginia Madsen, a typically Hollywood 18 years younger than hubby) and three kids hostage with Ford monitored at all times through wireless audio/video. Not to mention big guns they aren’t troubled about using, and inside help.

Neither director Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon, the Winston Churchill biopic The Gathering Storm) nor writer Joe Forte (only previously produced film is the well-received indie wedding comedy Say I Do) seem up to the task, leaning too heavily on moody Seattle weather (i.e., buckets of rain), indoor running and easily seen-through misdirection.

not recommended