Blackhat (2015) (English Language)

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Review

133min

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Viola Davis, Leehom Wang…and more

Following a series of devastating international cyber-attacks, US and Chinese authorities are forced together to track down the perpetrators by turning to a convicted and imprisoned American hacker who originally designed the code used in the attacks, the hunt takes them across the globe on an increasingly dangerous game of cat & mouse.

Director Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice) brings his style and sensibility to the ultra contemporary subject of “cyber-warfare” and in a twist brings together the two most active combatants in the field, USA and China, to fight a dangerous foe whose motives are unclear and who threatens the stability of all nations.

‘Blackhat‘ is a digital-spy action/thriller which stars Chris Hemsworth as the lead “cyber-warrior” with Mann using his typical fusion of ultra-realism when it come to terminology and dialogue plus his typical stylistic strokes when it comes to the visuals and sound, in this case however the combination on the whole fails to both entertain and inform in equal measure.

By now we know to expect a highly stylized and atmospheric film when it comes to Michael Mann but rarely does the style overwhelm the substance, in the case of ‘Blackhat‘ the style is way too familiar and the substance is uncompelling and unconvincing in the rare occasion where is exists.

The characters are uninteresting to say the least and their interactions seem dry and hard to be drawn into, no more so than in the case of the main love story, the substance of the film should be the issue of international cyber-warfare but the movie tries to ‘sex-up’ what is in reality a mundane regime with actors constantly scrolling through computer code, broken up by the occasional high-octane public shoot-out.

The most disappointing thing about the style is that it’s practically lifted from Mann’s 2006 movie version of ‘Miami Vice’, the colour palette, camera shots, sound & music and even plot points are virtually identical to his previous work but simply set in a far less gripping and often forensic context.

Despite some entertaining action set-pieces that follow a slow and deliberate build-up, ‘Blackhat’ is a rare misfire from a director who has established an often compelling and always entertaining filmmaking style.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Miami Vice (2006)

Michael Mann directs a modern-day movie adaptation of the classic 80’s TV show he produced where detectives Crockett and Tubbs try to infiltrate international drug-smuggling operations from South and Central America into the USA, as they go deeper the game becomes more dangerous and their roles become increasingly unclear.

Directed by Michael Mann and starring Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx and Li Gong among others.