No doubt Gina delivers as you can see she does all the jumping and climbing and fighting without any double. Antonio Banderas delivers the film’s last line just before the screen blacks out and the word he uses is perfect in describing Gina’s prowess as an action star. And not only that, she’s beautiful, sexy and can also act. She won’t win an Oscar like what Soderbergh did for Julia Roberts in “Erin Brokovich”, but she definitely holds her own even in the company of more senior actors.
The film starts with her hoping to meet Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) in a cafe. Aaron (Channing Tatum) comes instead and tries to do her in, but she manages to subdue him. Gina escapes with a shocked bystander, Scott (Michael Angarano), and it’s to him that she tells her story for the viewer to find out in flashbacks how she got into the situation she is now in.
To support a newbie like Gina, Soderbergh assembled a cast of fine actors, from Michael Douglas (who’s in “Traffic”) and Bill Paxton (as Gina’s dad) to current Hollywood favorite Michael Fassbender (“X-Men: First Class” and the acclaimed “Shame” and “Dangerous Method”.) Those who want their action flicks to be faster paced might find the exposition scenes rather slow, but the fight scenes are beautifully and brutally choreographed, notably the bone-crunching fight between Gina and Michael in a hotel room (the best for us) and her showdown with the treacherous Ewan on the beach. This movie easily eclipses that one with a teenage action star, “Hanna”. What’s more, it’s not like other overextended action flicks as it runs for less than an hour and a half. We can’t wait to see Gina’s next movie.
