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Things must have been a right mess when they were writing the script. Swordfish is gripping and skilfully directed, but it’s such a convoluted maze that by the end you’re guaranteed not to know who’s actually with whom... As far as I can tell, there is actually just one hero in the film – but are the villains actually villains? Are they even themselves? Hugh Hackman plays Stanley the hacker, who has just spent two years in prison. Today he lives in a caravan. He longs for his daughter (whose mother is lost in a drunken stupor). Then Ginger (Halle Berry) appears, wearing a skimpy red dress. She is there to recruit Stanley for a secret project headed by Gabriel Shear (John Travolta). Stanley hesitates, as the court has banned him from touching computers. But Ginger won’t give in and forces him at gunpoint. And who is Gabriel? A patriot? A villain? A double agent? Ginger’s lover or her target? Stanley shows little interest in Ginger, who is supposedly Gabriel’s girlfriend. Nevertheless, she bares herself to Stanley. Incidentally, there’s also a bank robbery and a car chase, but that’s not really the point. It’s more about pulling the rug out from under our feet every five minutes. Perhaps white and black cowboy hats should be brought back in films like this, so we don’t lose our bearings?