In Washington DC, someone is blowing up US politicians. But in all the instances, there are no clues as to how they were blown up.
It falls to bomb disposal expert Danny O'Neill (Pierce Brosnan) to figure out what is going on.
Delirious.
That is the word.
This movie is a delirious, glorious cartoon.
This is a fine example of a movie featuring a ridiculous premise, and leaning into it with total sincerity. That lack of irony makes the movie far more enjoyable - and also far funnier than it would have been as a farce.
I have a feeling the reason this movie comes off in such a specific way is due to its origins. This movie was produced by New Line Cinema in the early nineties, as they coming off their success with the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Live Wire was intended as the studio’s entry into the action genre, but I feel like the movie is still wedded to the aesthetics of its most popular franchise - which is no bad thing.
Even in terms of story structure, Live Wire feels closer to a slasher movie than an action flick - you just replace explosions with stabbings and that is it. We get a bit of action in the finale, most of the movie plays like a comic book version of a whodunnit.
In the lead role of hotshot bomb disposal man Danny O'Neill, Pierce Brosnan wrestles with an American accent, but he drops it enough scenes that it does not really matter. He looks great and moves with the smoothness and purpose he would bring to 007.
The characteristics of Brosnan’s acting that have become parodied are also display - in other movies, Brosnan's various mouth noises and exaggerated facials came off silly. Here, they are perfect for Live Wire's heightened world.
One problem is that the character is overbearing and rather cruel.
Grieving the death of his child, Danny spends the movie chasing after his wife, and demanding - over her objections - that she return to him. They are both dealing with trauma, but the movie treats Danny’s behaviour as totally appropriate, despite the emotional damage it causes.
Perversely, because of the way this movie is pitched, Brosnan’s character and characterisation (including the accent) feel like an unintentional parody of American action heroes. O’Neil’s hyper-heterosexuality and machismo are so OTT it almost feels like it is meant as a critique of the archetype. Even Brosnan’s hair and five o’clock shadow are so perfectly done it feels like a joke.
The scenes which sum up the movie also bookend it - in both scenes, O'Neill has to dispose of a bomb under the driver's seat of a beautiful woman. She has committed infidelities and the bombs are punishment from her husband and boyfriend. Brosnan tells her to stay with her husband and comments on her choice of underwear (or lack thereof).
What are we supposed to take from this scene?
O’Neill is attractive to all women, but he is a good guy because he wants to stay with his wife (who it is worth repeating, has left him).
The ending is somewhat disturbing - Brosnan is informed that his wife is about to give birth, singling that his deceased daughter will soon be replaced by another child. Brosnan's world is back in balance - although that poor kid is probably going to grow up in their sibling's shadow, traumatised by their father's overbearing machismo and emotional manipulation.
This is not a criticism, but part of why I decided to watch this movie was Ron Silver. Second-billed on the poster, I was expecting him to play the villain.
Ben Cross, a fine actor, is stuck in a rote mode as the villain. He is the epitome of the evil British villain, but there is nothing about him that makes him distinctive. His dialogue is pretty blunt, and feels like placeholder lines to keep the plot moving.
Silver has the same level of dialogue but he throws it out with such a rapid-fire patter, he comes across as a scummy politico. Even though he does not bring much to it, Silver's natural cadence is so alert and cocky it overcomes the blandness of his lines. The role is so small that I am surprised that SIlver is playing the role. I spent the movie wishing Cross and Silver had switched roles.
Live Wire might be a mishmash of different tropes and weird elements, but it ends up as a bit more than the sum of its parts. An oddball one-off.
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