Review of Blackhat (2015) by Ryan K — 06 May 2015

Blackhat is a clever and insightful fiction into a dangerously vulnerable world, invisible to the majority of the world which does exist.

Trailers for Blackhat painted a different picture than what the film was truly about.

Michael Mann is definitely one of the great directors of his generation. Much of the cinematography is very reminiscent of previous films directed by Mann such as 'Miami Vice' (2006), 'Collateral' (2004 and 'Heat' (1995). Mann pushes the limits of integrating multi-camera action sequences shot in HD Video with tradition single-camera 35mm. This style is truly unique and should be appreciated and recognized for it's technique.

The story is relatively easy to follow and carries some merit of believability. Mann often leans on blocking and body language to tell the story, where it feels like the script fills in the facts.

Chris Hemsworth does a stand-up job of developing his character and maintaining a well rehearsed accent and character persona from beginning to end. Support from Leehom Wang and Wei Tang add an interesting dynamic. I felt like both actors were starved for lines from a minimal dialogue script. Wei Tang (Chen Lien) seemed more comfortable with developing her character through interactions with Hemsworth (Nick Hathaway). Leehom felt stringed a bit more but also conveyed the struggles his character faces.

One of the more enjoyable dynamic in the film was performances from Viola Davis (Carol Barrett) and Holt McCallany (Mark Jessup). Viola does an outstanding job of relaying the demons her character is constantly chasing, while Jessup balances the two of them out by keeping one foot in reality but willing to solve the bigger picture.

Yorick van Wageningen (Sadak) and Ritchie Coster (Elias Kassar) give a strong performance for what feels to be simple characters with a stereotypical "bad guy" feel. Throughout the film it feel like both actors were given solid direction, but neither of the characters have much room for growth but to fulfill their antagonistic purpose.

Overall Blackhat is one of Michael Mann's better films. His vision of a hidden world that preys on technological vulnerabilities welcomes thought and curiosity of non-fictional examples. If you enjoy high intensity bursts of action surrounded with story development then you'll enjoy this film!