Genre: Crime, Thriller, Drama
Tagline: They will make him steal, but he will make them pay
Plot: Computer security specialist Jack Stanfield (HARRISON FORD) works for the Seattle-based Landrock Pacific Bank. Stanfield is a trusted top-ranking executive who built his career and reputation on designing the most effective anti-theft computer systems in the industry, protecting the bank's financial holdings from the constant threat of increasingly sophisticated internet hackers with his complex network of tracers, access codes and firewalls. Stanfield's position affords a comfortable life for him, his architect wife, Beth (VIRGINIA MADSEN) and their two young children. But Jack's system is vulnerable in one part that he did not account for: himself. It's a vulnerability that one very ruthless and resourceful thief is poised to exploit. Bill Cox (PAUL BETTANY) has been studying Jack and his family for many months; monitoring their online activity, listening to their calls and learning their daily routines with an arsenal of digital and video recorders and parabolic microphones that tap into the most personal of information. He knows the names of their children's friends, their medical histories, and the I.D. code for the security station that guards their neighborhood. Having spent the better part of a year methodically infiltrating every aspect of Jack's identity, Cox
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 ...is flawed, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying it for what it is, nor will that prevent me from recommending it to those who enjoy a thriller with enough of the right ingredients to provide a couple hours of escapism.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
A movie that exists in the moment should either be seen in the moment, or not seen at all (the second choice would be all right with me). "Firewall" is an ingenious attempt to update an old plot with new technology, and it is made with competence, skillful acting, and the ability to make us feel cleverer about digital stuff than we really are... --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
...is your usual Harrison Ford story, complete with family and one-dimensional villains. The cast is good and the movie is not without a few scenes of kick-ass pleasure, but there isn't really enough to lift it past being just another predictable thriller. C--Craig Younkin (Lee's Movie Info)
Firewall's" last shot seals its fate entirely, a ludicrous cliche on par with Spielberg's "War of the Worlds" finale. At least Spielberg's film was entertaining until that point. C-,C---Robin and Laura Clifford
As a routine thriller Firewall is barely functional, but as a waste of talent, it's positively amazing....Firewall arrives far too late to earn him any further reprieve. Maybe next time, he can just leave the question unanswered; frankly, we'd all be better off. D+--Rob Vaux (Flipsidemovies.com)
The thriller "Firewall" is set in the computer age, which means it turns Harrison Ford into a MacGyver whose bag of tricks might include an iPod rather than a paperclip and a candy bar as he tries to beat the very computer security system he devised.-- (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
The plot is so obvious you could easily make a game out of guessing what happens next - from the significance of the dog collar and the food allergies, to which bad guy underling will get whacked for being too nice to the hostages. 
All looks sleek and stylish but even the suave Paul Bettany can't salvage a promising cat-and-mouse game that culminates in an explosive fireball that leaves nary a scratch on our hero. The concept of identity theft lends a whiff of genuine fear and vulnerability but it all goes south in the end.  --Jeanne Aufmuth
Though the film doesn't offer nearly enough of their buddyish interacting, their scenes are its liveliest, if only because they conjure a rhythm and emotional center quite unlike the violence and melodrama that so pervade every other scene.--Cynthia Fuchs
Firewall is the flaming arrow of truth that Harrison Ford is fully in the throes of what worried scientists are calling the De Niro Syndrome.  --Peter Howell
"Firewall" is the sort of movie that damages reputations, shortens careers, and breaks hips. --Scott Weinberg (eFilmCritic.com)
The movie becomes a cat-and-mouse chase through a series of B-list action segments (yes, there are several car chases), and ultimately collides into a dead end wall of immeasurable stupidity.--Lexi Feinberg
Without the star power of Firewall, it would not have even been a decent television movie. The final scene of Ford walking up the road with his family is almost laughable. They have just gone through so much yet there they are, just a normal happy familyout for a walk. This is the kind of film you expect to find on television starring Antonio Sabbato jr and Dean Cain. --Scott Nash (TheMovieBuffs.com)
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| Cast |
Harrison Ford
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi |
 | Paul Bettany
The Da Vinci Code, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World |
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 | Alan Arkin
Little Miss Sunshine, Edward Scissorhands, Gattaca |
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| It’s purpose was to be a fun time at the movie theater, and it does that perfectly. I had a great time, and I honestly believe that you would, too. --Michael Sheridan (Tailslate.net)
"Firewall" is one of those movies where every detail in the first act is designed to pay off by the third... --Ty Burr (Boston Globe)
Like most thrillers that get lost in unfollowable computer technology, "Firewall" reminds us how much better off thrillers were before everything was reduced to keyboards, passwords and cell phones. --Ed Blank
This is a movie and I liked it, as did my guest. 8/10--Tony Medley (TonyMedley.com)
Halfway through, the film descends into the realm of the ridiculous, relying on expected action sequences (after all, it's a Harrison Ford movie) and plot twists that are more forced than surprising.--Hanh Nguyen
Call it unoriginal. Call it predictable. But, just like Ford, watching a decent man beat the snot out of jerks to protect his family never seems to get old.--Beth Mcarthur
As much as I hate to say it, “Firewall” isn’t so much bad as it is pointless, and the only thing I can think to do about it is uninstall the program and hope a better one comes Ford’s way for uploading soon. ---Sara M. Fetters
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