Saturday, April 3, 2010

Hackers

This movie had a couple of things going for it.  It's one of Angelina Jolie's early movie roles; I think she's a terrific actress.  And Penn Jillette has a small role; I think he's hilarious, but he's underused in Hackers.  Other than that, this is not a great movie.  The concept is a little bit cool, but it's amazing how dated and goofy it seems.  The story involves teenage hackers who get their kicks roaming around forbidden computer files and systems.  You have to smile at Dade's mom: What are you doing?  Dade: I'm taking over a TV network.  Mom: Finish up honey, and get to sleep.  The movie tries to make hacker culture look cool, but I left not believing that some of these guys could operate an ATM legitimately, much less control one through hacking a bank's computers.  The teen hackers get into a corporation's computer, unwittingly discovering a plot by the company's cyber security team to blackmail the company.  The security chief (another dorky, unbelievable character) tries to set the kids up to take the fall, but those zany kids foil his plot.  Not a complete waste of time, but a forgettable little film.

Bottom line, 1/2 star.

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