Haywire

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton 15A cert, general release, 93 min

ILL-DEFINED freelance superspy operative Mallory Kane (mixed martial arts champ-turned-thesp Carano) is contracted by her ill-defined superspy boss (Ewan McGregor) to rescue an ill-defined hostage in Barcelona.

Above them, ill-defined global playas Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas call the shots. But on the ground all is international location madness.

From her Catalan adventure, our action heroine is dispatched to Dublin where, it soon transpires, a double cross is in play. Michael Fassbender pops up – in keeping with the customs of our times. Arse-kicking and visceral high- speed chases across the capital ensue. Machine-gun totting gardaí are duly dispatched. We warned you that last year’s vagrancy laws could only end one way.

Don't let the glittering cast fool you: Haywireis one of Soderbergh's vérité doodles, not Contagion 2.

The film arrives in the same freewheeling – an unkind critic might write half-assed – spirit as Bubble, Full Frontaland The Girlfriend Experience.

The good news is that this particular doodle is far more energised and competent than those lacklustre predecessors. A streamlined screenplay from Soderbergh regular Lem Dobbs ( Romancing the Stone, The Limey) works to reduce the espionage drama into a basic, thrilling genre rhythm.

Never mind the conspiracy; the film is Carano's physicality. The MMA poster girl stays mostly quiet as she runs, kicks, and strangles enemies with her thighs. Her reticence allows her mad skills to do the talking; turns out they talk a good deal louder than anything in the Bournetrilogy.