Jackson Weaver
Staff Writer
The recent hack on Sony entertainment revealed the very real threat of cyber attacks in our day and age. While such a current topic would seem like the ideal setup for an action film, “Blackhat” does not live up to expectations.
Despite a strong performance from Chris Hemsworth, “Blackhat” is an absolute disaster. The film is a series of unfocused and puzzling events that fail to entertain.
Directed by Michael Mann, “Blackhat”, takes place after a Hong Kong nuclear power plant and the Mercantile Trade Center in Chicago are hacked into by an unknown terrorists. CIA operative Carol Barrett (Viola Davis) proposes that the US work with China in the investigation. The leader of the Chinese investigation, Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang), insists that hacker Nick Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth) be released from prison because his knowledge in coding would assist them in finding the cyber-criminals. Hathaway and his comrades then chase down the hackers, attempting to stop their next attack.
Throughout the film, Mann awkwardly tries to incorporate scenes where the camera is following data through computer systems. While these moments are initially intruiging simply from being so unusual, they quickly become a monotonous series of obscure shots, not benefitting the film in any way.
The narrative itself is also full of pointless and redundant events. For example, in one scene Hathaway leaves his car to run into a store, after which his car suddenly explodes. This event seems pointless because it is given no explanation and is simply disregarded for the rest of the film.
Additionally, the misleading plot leads to a horrible ending that leaves the audience with too many unanswered questions. The film’s end comes so abruptly that it fails to provide closure, leaving its characters in situations where their actions do not make any sense with anything that has happened to the story thus far.
The only noteworthy part of the film is Hemsworth’s performance. His cool and confident demeanor cast refreshing light on his role as the hacker antihero, an archetype that is generally assumed by a nerdy and obnoxious character.
Unfortunately, Hemsworth role fails to reedeem “Blackhat.” The film is so overwhelmed by random and nonsensical events that the resulting mess is in no way worth seeing.
Blackhat is rated R and is showing in theaters nationwide.
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