Haywire

Brutal, often shocking violence punctuates the opening fight sequence in Haywire, and it’s a sign of things to come.

This low-key international thriller from prolific director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) features about a half-dozen instances of raw hand-to-hand combat with a female assassin who isn’t afraid to mix it up with the boys.

There’s not much substance to the script beyond its adrenaline-fueled mayhem, but Soderbergh still manages to assemble a top-notch cast and employ a stylish visual approach that make for an exciting ride.

The story follows Mallory (Gina Carano), a highly trained operative for a top-secret government contractor whose boss (Ewan McGregor) sends her from China to Dublin to Barcelona on under-the-radar missions that require her unique fighting skills.

However, Mallory suspects she has been framed and double-crossed during a mission, turning her into a vigilante on the run from ruthless killers, and putting her life and that of an innocent bystander (Michael Angarano) in danger as the line blurs between friends and enemies.

Haywire is the third collaboration between Soderbergh and screenwriter Lem Dobbs (Kafka, The Limey), whose bare-bones globetrotting plot doesn’t make much sense or worry about developing characters beyond what’s needed to explain who the combatants will be for each of the bare-fisted showdowns.

The film essentially is a showcase for Carano, a real-life mixed-martial arts star who makes a successful transition to the big screen, in part because the role plays to her strengths. Her character’s monotonous speaking style and poker-faced expressions don’t require much acting range, and she’s right at home in the fight sequences.

Soderbergh again demonstrates his versatility with a gritty visual approach that includes a washed-out color palette and skewed camera angles. For the most part, he keeps a smooth jazzy-pop score humming in the background up until each fight, at which point the soundtrack is nothing more than bone crunching and glass breaking.

No doubt it was the filmmaker’s involvement that infused such a modest thriller with a superior ensemble cast that includes Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Bill Paxton, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas.

Haywire doesn’t require much brainpower, but its female protagonist offers something a little different for action-film aficionados.

Rated R, 92 minutes.