Harrison Ford is getting old.

He's past the days of being able to pull off the mature and sexy, gray-peppered hair look. But, he does manage to play an almost fully believable, middle-aged workingman-turned-hero, Jack Stanfield, in his latest movie Firewall.

Although Firewall has gotten dreadful reviews from professional critics, I -- perhaps being easier to cinematically please -- don't see how it is different from any other thriller. This drama-suspense film encompasses all that is cliché about the genre: bad guys with accents, kids held hostage and guns.

The movie drags in the beginning. Actually, the first three-quarters of the film are dry and nothing is really laid out for the audience besides the antagonists' intentions. This is where Ford's portrayal of Stanfield is disappointing; he doesn't do much in the way of defending himself or his family. He stays passive in an aggressive situation.

However, when Ford does eventually choose to take action, he proves to be a lovable, average-Joe character that the audience wants to support. But he portrays more of a grandfather role rather than the hot, older businessman-type he has been known for in previous films.

Despite all this, Ford still does a little better than a mediocre job of playing this role.

I agree that it is not one of Ford's better movies. But, it did prove to be incredibly entertaining. Firewall may have been slightly predictable, but it is only after you have seen the movie in its entirety that you recognize its conventional plot. Still, it kept me biting my nails a little.

But, the movie isn't a complete chain of suspenseful scenes.

Firewall has a good medley of intense and humorous moments. Ford's secretary in the movie, Janet Stone, a quirky, offbeat young woman played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, and the main character of Jack Stanfield provide some comic relief. Rajskub gets laughs by taking advantage of humorous facial expressions and awkward moments, and Ford by playing off his aging and sometimes clumsy behavior. But this humor might have also lead to the movie being slightly "off." There is something, I'm not sure exactly what, but it made the characters' actions seem unbelievable. I think it might have been the mixing of comedy blended into scenes of a trying-to-be-suspense movie.

Rain is a justifiable precipitation for Firewall since it is set in Seattle. It even sets the intense and formidable feel for the plot. However, there is a torrential downpour in almost every scene in the movie, except for the unrealistic ending of course. At this point, the rain and storming lose their valuable impact on the audience.

Overall, Firewall isn't as bad a movie as it was said to be. The simple plot makes it easy to follow and lends itself well for that perpetually confused moviegoer we all know so well. Still, Ford may not exactly mean dollar signs for studios anymore.

He is getting older, and I'm sure Firewall will quickly be making its way to DVD. But for what it was, Firewall provided entertainment and excitement for the average audience member.

Grade: B-