A few months ago, Gina Carano has been negotiating a deal to be cast in The Fast and the Furious 6, and “The Rock” (Dwayne Johnson) pretty much confirmed his new partner in the movie when he tweeted the following message along with the photo on Twitter:

“Beast & the Beauty”.. Me & my FAST 6 partner in ass kickins (and fun)

Fast and the Furious 6 is now officially in production, directed by Justin Lin, and the movie picks up right after Johnson lets Vin Diesel and Paul Walker go in Fast Five. The movie also stars Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Joe Taslim, and Luke Evans.

Fast and the Furious 6 is slated for a theatrical release in the US on May 24, 2013.

Gina Carano Posing With The Rock On The Set Of The Fast And The Furious 6

Hey everyone. Welcome back to NoFaceNorm’s  Grammatically Unsound Movie Reviews. I hope your respective, non-denominational holidays served you well.

Believe it or not, despite what most critics would like you to think, we’re actually humans, and we actually have emotions. As such, our own biases might make us lean one way or another, and in turn they affect the end result of our reviews. The following critique is a perfect example of this, as – since I was a kid – I have always held a certain preference.

A preference, that is, for tough chicks. Not to be confused with “buff” women.

Please, do yourself a favor and don’t ask.

Naturally, this shoves me straight into the key demographic for a movie like Haywire (2011). Despite its convoluted plot made worse by a narrative half-told in flashbacks, it all takes the backseat to the main selling point: your action heroine stands as a professional in the business of kicking ass.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Uh, you gave Colombiana a bad review, genius. You must be some kind of moron.”

But that is exactly my point. The whole “femme fatale” thing is a gimmick that’s been done to death. Every now and then, we see a new spin on it, as in the case of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, Hanna or Kill Bill, but usually it’s all the same formula that just shouts: “Hey, stupid, give us your money.”

You could summarize it like this:

Action + Hot Lady = $

It doesn’t really get any more complicated than that. Unfortunately, what we’ve learned from films like Colombiana or Salt (Starring Angelina Jolie) is that this formula is starting to become a tiny bit transparent.

When you cast a suitably attractive woman as your “token contract murderer” it looks particularly awkward when she hyperextends her knees to kick, stiffens up her shoulders to punch, and turns her palms inward when she puts up her dukes (seriously, they always do that). It looks a little incongruent when your government-sanctioned killing machine seems to be so wary of breaking her nails. Seasoned fighter or not, you subconsciously pick up on these things.

So, in the end, these women aren’t tough. They’re just doing a bad job of acting tough. To quote Socrates, “Just because you put syrup on shit, doesn’t make it pancakes.”

Despite the whole “Now I will kill you” part, this really doesn’t seem so bad.

But here comes a new spin on an old formula:

Movie Exec 1: “What if we took an actual fighter, and taught her how to act?”

Movie Exec 2: “Fighters don’t make good actors, we’ve done it before.”

Movie Exec 1: “But, she’ll play a contractor – she doesn’t have to act! Her character lives sans emotions!”

Movie Exec 2:  “Erm, but wouldn’t that take a subtle sense of complexity – the kind that can only be expressed and known through experience?”

Movie Exec 1: “No.”

Movie Exec 2: “Rick, I like your style.”

And that’s pretty much it. That’s what makes this Haywire (2011) feel so authentic. Instead of trying to get some “normie” to play a martial artist, they get a martial artist to play a martial artist! It’s F’ing genius!

Read about the verdict after the jump…

Yell! Rating (x/5 Skulls):

3.5 out of 5 stars

Year Released:

20 January 2012

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Cast/Crew

Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Eddie J. Fernandez, Aaron Cohen, Maximino Arciniega, and Michael Fassbender

Genre

Action, Thriller

Official URL:

Haywire (2011)

Why? Well, let’s just say since the day Gina Carano lost to Cris Cyborg, the women’s 145-pound weight division in STRIKEFORCE is just not the same. The division in its current state simply lacks of talent, and of quality female fighters who could even stand a chance to go past one round against the muscly augmented “Cyborg.” We could also say the division was Cris Cyborg, as Ben Fowlkes stated in his article. Without “Cyborg,” the division is in jeopardy of no longer existing. The women’s bantamweight is where it’s at right now, because it’s hot, exciting to watch, and shit is about to hit the fan. “Cyborg’s” last fight with Hiroko Yamanaka lasted less than 16 seconds in a fist-pummelling defeat, thanks to her superhuman strength. Beyond all her power, Cris Cyborg is extremely aggressive compared to other female fighters and would scare the daylights out of any average man. It would take another honest and fearless fighter like Gina Carano to face her again, even without any drug enhancers. So, could this situation be a good thing for women’s MMA in STRIKEFORCE?

Former judo Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey is the next female fighter in the 145-pound division who actually could dethrone “Cyborg,” but has focused her fighting attentions on the beautiful Miesha Tate, who is currently the STRIKEFORCE women’s bantamweigth champion. After numerous call-outs on Miesha Tate across interviews and on Twitter, Rousey expressed her desire to challenge Tate. Well, Rousey was heard, and even if Sarah Kaufman was next in line to fight the champion Rousey will finally face Miesha Tate on March 3, 2012. It is the most anticipated fight in women’s MMA since Carano vs. Cyborg. Can we just speed up time so we can watch the fight sooner than later?

For the moment, Cris Cyborg is joining the dog pile of unprofessional losers who have failed a drug test in the MMA such as Chael Sonnen, Tim Silvia, Chris Leben, and Thiago Silva, just to name a few. The penalty she’s currently facing is a one year suspension with a fine of $2,500.

In the meantime, “Cyborg” will be on the sideline targeting upcoming female MMA stars, and we will just have to wait and see what the future holds for her and the women’s 145-pound division.

Monsters of MMA: Miesha Tate, Cris Cyborg, and Ronda Rousey - © COPYRIGHT, BRYAN G. BROWN

Credit: Relativity Media

Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire gets its theatrical release next Friday, January 20th, but the first five minutes of the action/thriller can be seen online and here, on Yell! Magazine.

The scene introduces us to Mallory (MMA great, Gina Carano) and Aaron (Channing Tatum) as they meet up in a diner. After some awkward dialog, Aaron attacks Mallory and proceeds to kick the shit out of her. When a poor, unsuspecting bystander intervenes (because no man should beat on a woman), Mallory has an opportunity to turn the tide of the fight — and she takes it. If only Aaron had tapped out.

While Haywire co-stars such Hollywood heavyweights as Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, and Bill Paxton (OK, so they might not be heavyweights), it’s a genre flick with appropriately awful acting (if these five minutes are any indication). Still, it’s bound to be a fun-filled action ride that’s enjoyable from start to finish.

Check back next week for Yell! Magazine’s full review of Haywire.

Enjoy the clip and…

Rock Hard!

Also, don’t miss this sexy behind-the-scenes video of Gina Carano’s January 2012 photo shoot, right below.

Gina Carano: GQ Photo-Shoot Video

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Gina Carano in Haywire (2012) Picture

Gina Carano has been out of the MMA spotlight for quite some time now, ever since her first career loss to Cris Cyborg in STRIKEFORCE on August 15, 2009. It’s been a long two and half years, and her first major deal with Hollywood will finally be revealed this month in the highly anticpiated action/thriller Haywire.

Brought to you by the award-winning director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, Contagion), the opportunity was given to Gina over a four-hour lunch. For Soderbergh, it was her fighting abilities that gave her the lock as the lead alpha female role. Haywire also stars Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas.

Ewan McGregor in Haywire (2012) picture

Since her defeat, Carano explained in an recent interview that she used it to focus on her movie, which has her performing 98% of the stunts for the lead charater, Mallory Kane, to spend time with family, and to work out some personal issues she has been facing. It would be no surprise to know that the fight against Cris Cyborg possibly had more impact on her than anyone could have imagine, since her dream is to be recognized as the best female MMA fighter in the world, and that dream was shattered in a single night by Cyborg. Carano also expressed how much more she wants to learn about acting, and is convinced that making movies is something you can do in the long-term. With that said, Carano continues to keep it a secret to whether or not she will return to fighting in STRIKEFORCE, but hinted that after Janurary 20th an answer will certainty be revealed.

Gina Carano in STRIKEFORCE

As much as we want to see Gina Carano back inside the cage, rather than focus on film, we just can’t see her doing both, especially if she wants to be the best female MMA fighter. Managing two intense careers would be challenging even for a highly successful female role-model like Carano, who doesn’t believe she is the most organized person in the world. Plus the two female divisions in STRIKEFORCE is stronger than ever with the best female fighters like Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, and Sarah Kaufman to name a few. Jumping in on the roster now would definitely be a new challenge for Gina to face, but anything is possible for Carano. She’s capable of quickly moving up the ranks again, and fulfilling her dream to become a champion one day.

Gina Carano’s next film

Gina Carano is rumored to star as “Circle” in another Hollywood film called Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters, directed by Thor Freudenthal. This would see her starring alongside Logan Lerman and Alexandra Daddario. The film is already in pre-production, and is scheduled to be released sometime in 2013.

Time will only tell now, and we will all have to see how well Haywire performs at the box office, and how critics will rate her movie. In the meantime, keep your eyes out on Gina Carano, and check back soon, here at Yell! Magazine, to read the review on Haywire.

BONUS: Remembering Gina Carano In MMA

Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.

Using her black-ops military training, she devises an ingenious—and dangerous—trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she’ll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary.

Haywire (2011) Trailer

Source: Haywire

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Carano was off exploring a different career path in acting during her time off and her film, Haywire, is scheduled for release sometime in 2011.

Gina Carano Tribute Video

Source: TheCageDoctor.com

Gina Carano is Ready for a Comeback Fight