Haywire hit the AFI Fest in Los Angeles this week to mostly positive reviews, almost all of which singled out the impressive action sequences orchestrated by Steven Soderbergh. Appropriately, the two previous trailers made it seem like that would be the strongest element. Story and characters? I’m not completely discounting their potential in this director’s hands, but they don’t give the impression of being quite up to par with what we usually expect from him.

A second trailer from EW doesn’t change that view all too much, but it isn’t negating how everything else looks (rather entertaining), and the appeal of seeing Soderbergh take on a picture of this sort still holds strong. Strangely enough, one thing I can’t find myself pulled in by is his cinematography. Soderbergh can make beautiful films with the RED Camera — a piece of technology he’s been a very vocal proponent of for years — but this has a digital, smeary visage that put me off the format for several years — before people such as he convinced me that it could resemble film. So long as I can get over this, I think I’ll have a lot of fun.

Watch it below:

Synopsis:

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.

Starring Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Michael Douglas, and Antonio Banderas, Haywire opens on January 20th.

Are you looking forward to Haywire? How effective are these trailers?