Despite a couple of red herrings, Firewall plays out exactly as anyone who’s ever seen one of Ford’s previous thrillers might expect. Acquaintances and coworkers take him for a criminal; the family makes several failed attempts at escape. Halfway through the deal, Jack is pushed to the breaking point and turns the tables on his family’s abductors. The end result is a plot that looks like a collage of Ford’s previous movies.
Paul Bettany as head hostage-taker is the one sharp element in this otherwise dull display, giving his villain a depth that certainly wasn’t written into his dialogue. At times he seems threatening, at others scared and panicked, the way real criminals are likely to behave but seldom do on the big screen.
The script is fine, if a bit technical about the whole online banking aspect. And with another actor at the helm, the audience might have been able to sit back and enjoy the ride rather than measure how this Ford hero falls short his previous incarnations.
It only takes one well-performed, against-type role—no matter how small—to have Hollywood seeing an established star through new eyes. Former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, an actor with far less star power to draw upon than Ford, recently proved with his hilarious, quirky turn in The Matador. So there’s no reason Ford couldn’t follow his and Nicholson’s lead to a new lease on his on-screen life.
There was once a good actor inside Harrison Ford. If he trusts himself to take on more challenging work in the future, maybe he and we can discover him again. In the meantime, it’s a better entertainment bet to just rent Air Force One.