Paul Bettany: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

... And 5 That Sucked

5. Bill Cox - Firewall (2006)

Considering Bettany's barnstorming performance in Gangster No. 1, you'd figure that any film in which he plays the villain would turn out pretty well. Add in direction from Richard Loncraine (whose version of Richard III is quite spectacular) and you'd have good reason to hope for the best. Alas, as is so often the case with Hollywood thrillers, the end result is tepid and generic, with Bettany given far too little room for manouevre. Firewall stars Harrison Ford as Jack Stanfield, a banker in Seattle who is happily married with two children. His life is changed forever when bank robber Bill Cox (Bettany) kidnaps his family and forces Jack to break into the very bank for which he designed the security systems. What follows is a game of cat-and-mouse involving foiled escapes, electronic theft and car chases, ending in a final showdown between Bill and Jack. Despite an appealing premise with contemporary relevance, Firewall quickly becomes unbelievable, with the kidnapping aspect being strung out until the whole thing becomes needlessly histrionic. While Ford's world-weary performance may be the main gripe, Bettany doesn't do himself any favours. His villain is uninspiring and not particularly threatening, and his final showdown is little more than a rip-off of the final fight in Lethal Weapon.