Score: ***1/2 out of ***** (B-)
Long Story Short: Blackhat is one of those very well-timed films, providing a fictional take on the subject of the all-too-real hacks on Sony and others. Chris Hemsworth plays a suitable lead flanked by an unexpected but welcome Chinese element. The film has a nice mix of computer and physical action, but it could have used some more editing and a better final act. Despite its flaws, Blackhat is a quality, entertaining time at the movies.
It's quite rare for January to be a busy movie release month, but 2015 seems set to be an extraordinary year in film all around. Granted, several films I'm calling January releases are technically from 2014, but they were not released widely until this year. In short, I'm hitting the ground running this year with the movie reviews (you can find my review for Selma here). Blackhat is not the Oscar-contender type film that the last two I saw were, but it's a nice change of pace and features both a well-known director and star. Despite poor reviews, the premise intrigued me enough to give it a try. Blackhat was directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral, etc.) and stars Chris Hemsworth.
In China, the computer systems of a nuclear power plant get hacked, causing a breach. In the United States, trading in a commodities market goes haywire with manipulated stock figures. The two are seemingly random cyber attacks, but security analysts in China determine that they are in fact connected; one of the analysts recognizes a common footprint. The analyst, Dawai (Leehom), travels to the U.S. to try to work out the puzzle with his American counterparts - and soon insists, to their displeasure, that they release a hacker from prison to help them. The man, Hathaway (Hemsworth), had designed code with Dawai in school that appeared in both hacks. With few other leads, FBI Agent Barrett (Davis) works with them.
The group hops the globe, tracking traces of the mysterious hacker to its source. It seems as though the threat slips through their grasp with the same frustrating ease as its malicious code. Hathaway, as smart as he is, may be forced to risk his freedom again - and his life - in order to neutralize the threat.
Blackhat has a good, if rather odd, cast. Chris Hemsworth plays the lead, hacker Hathaway. Perhaps you've seen the trailers or commercials and thought this an unusual choice. Well... you're not wrong, as there are certainly moments where it seems an awkward fit, but I give Hemsworth credit, too, for more frequently coming across as a believable hacker. He is charismatic and a strong presence as the hero, but falls short of creating a particularly memorable character. Wang Leehom, Hathaway's Chinese partner, is a nice addition as the affable Dawai. While he sneeringly derides authority figures like a rebel nerd, he also shows refreshing camaraderie with Hathaway. Viola Davis doesn't have a big part as the FBI chaperone, but she is a welcome presence who makes the best of essentially one-liners and Significant Looks. Hathaway's love interest, played by Tang Wei, is probably the weakest link. I've certainly seen far worse as these parts go, but she's not very convincing as a supposedly formidable coder herself, nor as the center of the film's minimal emotional component.
Blackhat serves primarily as a high-tech thriller (quite a timely one, at that) crossed with a buddy action plot. It performs both roles decently. The core element - hacking and all the related computer wizardry - is both fascinating as well as grounded. It's not like the bad guy is some super villain who is going to launch America's nukes at China or something. It's difficult to get your heart racing with just a bunch of people typing away furiously at the computer, so that element is kept at a modest yet not overlooked level. I was not expecting the action element of this film, one that is pretty hard-hitting. The gun shots ring particularly loudly in one tense scene, bringing the fear from the abstract distance of the computer up close and personal. Warranted or not, I was surprised by several of the personal losses as the film ramps up toward the conclusion. And that's where the weaknesses start to come in. The script and/or editing could have been tightened a good bit, as the film feels at least about 15 minutes too long and the pacing in the last third or so is not great. The filmmakers would also have been wise to drop many of the obligatory "emotional" elements (although there are a few good moments).
***
Of course, Blackhat is quite a fall in quality from the other films I've seen recently. However, I think critics have been too harsh on it - it's by no means a bad film. An interesting meta-element of the film is the huge role played by both Chinese characters and Asian locations. Now, as a film about cyber attacks, their presence is not out of place (this is not to label them as "bad guys", just that there are obvious tensions on this matter between the U.S. and China. Heck, they're on the same team in this film, which I found quite nice). But it's interesting to consider their presence for other reasons. Just look at the newest Transformers: it did quite well in the U.S., making $245 million - but that was a drop off from the others. However, it finished #1 worldwide in 2014, by far, thanks to $300 million from China - arguably in large part because a good chunk of the film was set in China. As long as films don't just pander to Chinese (or other) audiences (and Blackhat doesn't do it too much), I have no problem with this element in Hollywood films. In fact, I'm fascinated by it as an admirer of the Chinese and their history. It will be interesting to watch this trend develop - one that will quickly overshadow Blackhat itself. You can wait for this one on Netflix, but it's also a perfectly fine, entertaining thriller for a night at home.
"Blackhat (poster)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackhat_(film)#mediaviewer/File:Blackhat_poster.jpg
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