Review of Blackhat (2015) by Greg C — 18 Jan 2015

Perhaps a movie thriller focused on hackers, coders, and network or system administrators is something of a Kobayashi Maru. Director Michael Mann gives it an admirable shot. The gorilla in this room has got to be the casting of Chris Hemsworth (Thor/George Kirk) as the smartest hacker in the room. He's OK at acting the "smart" thing, but seem to be here for the action and as eye-candy for the ladies. His American accents are a bit wobbly And there is not really enough action to make the blow-stuff-up folks really happy. Sure the violence is here, but the pace is a bit slow.

No doubt, I am inclined to cut this movie a little slack. It is not an outright fail. It points out the manipulation of people that is at the core of hacking,.

The technical aspects of movie making are well in hand, or in normal speak, the movie looks pretty good. Leehom Wang and Wei Tang give sharp performances as the Chinese brother/sister teammates.

I am giving this one a gracious 3 stars, mostly because the chemistry of the 3 (to 5) lead actors is pretty good and movie looks good. My mind was largely engaged in their interactions. There was not the expected twist of betryal and that is OK. There only so much drama you can get from people staring at HEX dumps.