There are some movies that act as time capsules into what seems like an entirely different world, and when it comes to peak turn-of-the-millennium cinema, Swordfish is right up there with Mission: Impossible II and the Gone in 60 Seconds remake as prime examples.
Hugh Jackman has frosted tips and plays a hacker who spouts the most cliched techno-babble imaginable, John Travolta sports one of his worst wigs ever and a nu-metal soul patch, unnecessarily excessive slow motion is present and accounted for, Vinnie Jones has a part in a major Hollywood blockbuster, there’s a thumping techno soundtrack produced by Paul Oakenfold, and it just screams “early 2000s” in a way that few features from that time period can compete with.
And yet, as has been made clear by a retrospective Reddit thread re-examining Swordfish through a modern lens, the number one thing everybody seems to remember the most is Halle Berry’s gratuitous topless scene, although that shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing as it was literally the most talked-about element by far both in the buildup to its release, as well as during and after.
The actress was paid an additional $500,000 on top of her already-agreed $2 million salary for the sake of baring all, and while she’s been happy to admit in the years since that it served absolutely no purpose other than wanton titillation, it allowed her to overcome her career-long fear of filming a nude scene and earned her an extra half a million dollars in the process, so technically it did have a reason to exist if you want to split hairs.