[***SPOILERS***] Security expert Harrison Ford is targeted by criminals (led by a cooly effective Paul Bettany) who threaten to kill his family (including wife Virginia Madsen) unless he helps them rob the very bank he has spent the last twenty years of his career protecting. Ho-hum thriller nearly gets by on the strength of its admittedly intriguing premise. Problem is, for all the film's fixation on technology (cell phones, iPods, and even a pet-tracking device all play important roles), the plotting is all too rote and familiar. It's also pretty hard to get too excited over scenes of Ford hunched over a computer, crunching numbers and hacking codes, no matter how much the generic suspense music swells on the soundtrack. Director Richard Loncraine, who directed Ian McKellen's brilliant Richard III in better days, stages the action competently but without much surprise. Ford, craggy of face and more desperately in need of Indy IV than ever, does little to correct the career slide that started nearly a decade ago. If there's a genuine silver lining here, she goes by the name of Mary Lynn Rajskub. This cute, offbeat character actress (she was in Sweet Home Alabama and Legally Blonde 2, and plays Chloe O' Brian on TV's 24) is terrific as Ford's faithful and beleagured secretary, and Loncraine is wise to give her a fairly generous amount of screen time. That's more than can be said of veterans Robert Forster and Alan Arkin, two terrific actors given little of interest to do here.… Expand

A tense and intense thriller. I'm not sure why it has been so poorly received. Sure, it's formula stuff, but it's very well done formula.

Incredibly funny!

Just because you won't believe a minute of this cliche-ridden piece of fluff doesn't mean you'll be bored. Sad to say, though, this is probably the worst Harrison Ford film to come down the pike in quite a while. What a waste of Virginia Madsen, but at least Mary Lynn Rajskub got some good screen time.

Ford will die in this role but he's what keeps the often hard- to- swallow story plodding forward-- at times it is suspenseful. Technology is the other familiar character (no nomination here however).

Calm down freaks. When you make a movie, or have a career like ford then you can talk. I though it was an all right film.

They should find the computer program that wrote this movie and infect it with a virus. Cynical filmmaking, predictable plotting without much of a payoff. Ford should try something out of left field, maybe a gritty Indie pick, before all his movies go straight to cable.

By no rights a "good movie", but entertaining for the short time that it's there Go see it if you have nothing better to do and dont expect to be moved the score was incredibly cheesey.

Although it is a rehash, it's well done and exciting. Good escapism and a roller coaster trip. Also holes in the plot are not real evident while you are watching.

Enjoyable thriller. Don't let the Movie-reviewer wanna-be's dissuade you from a good movie.

It could only be concidered fair. There were a lot of bizzarre (seemingly unintentional) red herrings introduced that simply should not have been. The family is set up as being rowdy and seemingly dissobediant. And yet this doesn't remotely play into the plot. The scene structure is so by the numbers it's almost funny. Everything in the first act of the movie is introduced so as to be used later in the problems solution. It'd almost like to watch it again to see just how many things show up exactly twice. Once for establsihment and the other to aid in the solution.… Expand

It kept me on the edge of my seat. Loved every minute.

I have composed a Haiku to demonstrate how I feel about Firewall: Firewall's best part: Man killed with random blender. Really, a blender! This movie is so bad and cliche that by the end I was actually doubled over in laughter. I wasn't alone in doing this, either; I could hear several other people laughing as well. Don't see this movie.

The suspense part was good. Until, what most people will know as the "Blender Incident" it became SUper-Dad saves the family.

The worst movie Harrison Ford has ever starred in. A total , boring, contrived waste of time. Never been so disappointed. It started out as a mundane thriller, and just turned stupid about halfway through. All emotion was way overplayed, as if something interesting or exciting was happening. Ford's presence alone couldn't save this useless flop of a movie.

I would say this movie was fair, but it was nothing more than your typical here comes dad to save the day.

What I liked least about "Firewall" was not the movie (which I liked a lot), but some of the major critical reaction to it. I was told that I was supposed to hate the "terrible" ending, with one reviewer said that the third-act revelation came out of nowhere. Not true. TWO hints were dropped early on (for those of us who were paying attention) that something was up with the [omitted]. Dishonest or misleading reviewing also rankles me. With regard to his age, one critic siad Ford looked ludciorus as he "scaled a building." Hmm. I was expecting some moment akin to Spider-man; instead, Ford, for the scene in question, used a conventional [omitted]! Witless critical nonsense aside, I thought this was a decent and well-plotted thriller. Maybe not one of Ford's best thrillers, but hardly something that "squanders" his career (something that one other critic wrote). I look forward to seeing this film again when it turns up on cable.… Expand

It was an alright film, it was worth the money and the time. Go see it. Recomendable

I was laughing out loud by the end. The ending was so perfectly awkward; a lot of matters were left unresolved. Don't waste your time. Watch Indiana Jones.

I dont care what people say, Harrison Ford still has it, and this was a good movie, lots of action and excitement. Paul Bettany is a great actor also. I went in thinking it was going to be crap based on what I had heard, but it turned out to be very enjoyable.

Never mind the family. Is the dog going to survive? Virginia Madsen, coming off her immaculate waitress role from "Sideways", and Carly Schroeder, cashing-in on her appearance in the wondrous indie "Mean Creek", are so bland, it hardly matters if they live or die. You get the sense that Harrison Ford has an edict that his co-stars don't upstage him. Mary-Lynne Rajskub(as Jack Stanfield's secretary Janet) comes close. Even though Rajskub doesn't have any memorable lines, as a sidekick on the run with Ford, her confused reaction shots and refusal to smile plays like an anti-Sandra Bullock during her "Speed" heyday. She's easily the best thing in this dreary and predictable action flick. Love the car.… Expand

Interesting story of how technology can cut both ways with standard Harrison Ford action that we've come to love and expect.

Proving once again Ecclesiastes' claim that there's nothing new under the sun, this passable but forgettable actioner plays like a techno-geek update of one of Humphrey Bogart's last films, the 1955 thriller The Desperate Hours, in which Bogey and his gang of criminals hold an all-American family hostage in their home. This time out, Harrison Ford plays Fredric March's old role of the desperate but intrepid father, but the stakes have definitely been raised: ruthless Paul Bettany wants Ford to use his computer skills to drain money from the bank Ford's an executive at so Bettany can donate millions and millions to the Salvation Army. (Just kidding.) One of Desperate Hours' most pungent throwaway moments came when the understandably stressed March, who was forced to continue going to his office as though nothing were going on at home, is asked by an observant co-employee if he's all right and if there's anything he can do, and March snaps, "You can mind your own business!" Such behavior, while understandable under the circumsatances, is nevertheless unpleasant to watch, and one of the main problems with Firewall is that Ford is forced to behave this way ALL MOVIE LONG. Despite this and an acutely been-there-done-that final confrontation that belies the intriguing technological hooks that precede it, this manages to be surprisingly watchable in light of all the Adventures In Unwatchability that Ford has bludgeoned us innocent moviegoers with over the past few years: What Lies Beneath, K:19 The Widowmaker, Sabrina, Hollywood Homicide and the spew-inducing Random Hearts. (Hell, in comparison to the last three, Firewall is Raiders of the Lost Ark and Witness combined!) The energetic music score by Alexandre Desplat, which often makes the movie seem more exciting than it is, helps a bit; a really appealing supporting performance by MaryLynn Rajskub (who constantly makes her arrogant character on TV's 24 surprisingly sympathetic and fun to watch) helps even more. Given how she's frequently treated in this film, both the character and the actress deserve a promotion and raise--and quick!… Expand

Involving, interesting thriller that sucks you in and takes you for a ride. A lot of fun.

Smart, violent, and completely thrilling from start to finish. Sadly though, I think this was Harrison Fords' last stand in the cinema. He never ceased to amaze us, did he? Nonetheless, his skill and performance was too good to describe.

"Firewall" gives new meaning to the term "action film." This movie did what so many others in this genre have failed to do. It kept my interest the whole two hours it ran. Richard Loncraine, who had never directed a thriller before, does an absolutely wonderful job. Harrison Ford is incredible. Paul Bettany is one of the creepiest bad guys I've seen in the movies for a long time. My only problem is that the other robbers were, for the most part, too silly to be taken seriously. If you are in the mood for an edge-of-your-seat movie, rent "Firewall" and get ready for a wild ride.… Expand