Rational Choice Theory and SwordfishA theory and character developmentSwordfish is a dark counter-espionage action thriller about power, money, sacrifice and 21st century break-in. During this article, the characters will be introduced and then systematically compared to rational choice theory and classified according to their actions. First, a review of the film must be completed. Second, an in-depth review of rational choice theory will be conducted. Finally, the selected characters will then be examined against rational choice theory to explain why each character engages in their criminal activity. Swordfish begins in a confrontation between Gabriel Shear's American terrorist group and the entire LAPD scheme. Gabriel is minutes away from successfully robbing the World Bank. Everything is in place for the heist to be carried out. As a bargaining chip, Gabriel has all the civilians in the bank strapped into suicide vests. These vests are composed of C-4 explosive charges and ball bearings. But Gabriel's audacity does not stop there; each of the vests is programmed to trigger if it leaves a certain area. There is only one problem at this point. The super-hacker he hired to break into the bank's computer systems has changed his mind. The hacker's name is Stanley Jobson. Gabriel's well thought out and rehearsed plan is falling apart in this moment. A hostage manages to escape from the World Banc and is caught by a member of the LAPD SWAT team. Everything gets loud at this point, the American terrorists scream at the SWAT member to let the hostage go, the SWAT team encourages their partner to save the hostage, and the hostage screams...... middle of paper. ....al steal something from their neighbor who seems to have a perfect life. By taking over their neighbor, criminals feel “alive” and truly in control of their lives. According to rational choice theory, “reasoning criminals evaluate the risk of arrest, the severity of the expected punishment, the potential value of the criminal enterprise, and their immediate need to achieve criminal gain; their behavior is systematic and selective” (Siegel 106). If any of these factors are not on the list of positive outcomes, the criminal will not, according to the theory, commit the crime. It is therefore safe to say that a criminal will have to rationalize his crime in the following way: I will not get caught, if I get caught I will not be punished as severely, I will make a lot of money and I will have to do it. pay my bills with my paycheck.