Rational Choice Theory and Swordfish A development of theory and characters Swordfish is a dark counter-intelligence action thriller about 21st century power, money, sacrifice and break-in . Throughout this article the characters will be introduced and then systematically compared with the theory of rational choice and classified based on their actions. First you need to complete a review of the film. Second, an in-depth examination 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 with a clash between Gabriel Shear's American terrorist group and the entire ruse of the Los Angeles Police Department. Gabriel is minutes away from successfully robbing the World Bank. Everything is ready to carry out the robbery. As a bargaining chip, Gabriel has tied up all the civilians in the bank with suicide vests. These vests are composed of C-4 explosive charges and ball bearings. Gabriel's audacity doesn't stop there, however; each of the vests is programmed to explode if it leaves a certain area. There's only one problem at this point. The superhacker hired to penetrate 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 right now. A hostage makes it out of the World Bank and is captured by a member of the LAPD SWAT team. At this point everything gets loud, the American terrorists shout 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... ....to stealing something from their neighbor who seems to have a perfect life. By taking from the criminal their neighbor, they feel "alive" and true masters of their lives. According to rational choice theory, “criminals evaluate the risk of arrest, the severity of the expected punishment, the potential value of the criminal enterprise and the immediate need for criminal gain; their behavior is systematic and selective” (Siegel 106). If any of these factors are not on the list of positive outcomes, the theory goes that the criminal will not commit the crime. So it's safe to say that a criminal will have to rationalize their crime this way: I won't get caught, if I get caught I won't be punished as severely, I'll make a lot of money and I'll need to pay the bills out of my paycheck..