I’m a huge fan of director Michael Mann. He made The Insider (1999) which is still in my list of top 10 favorite movies of all time. I’ve liked all his movies to one degree or another and there’s things to like about Blackhat as well. But in the end, it’s just not up to the quality I’ve come to expect from Mann.
The action is shot in really interesting ways but never achieves the intensity of something like the bank robbery scene in Heat. The digital photography looks better here than in the past (camera technology is definitely improving) but never approaches the gorgeous colors & grain of something like The Insider.
I’ve still yet to see Hemsworth in a role that really showed me he is an A-list actor. He’s got a great physique and he’s certainly not bad as an actor, but he’s never been able to completely draw me into one of his characters. Unfortunately, Blackhat didn’t give him much to work with here and what he did have, didn’t come across any better than what I’ve seen from him in the past.
There were too many absurd moments that pulled me out of the story. Endless helicopter shots from every angle, shootings in the middle of crowds where the crowd doesn’t notice, stilted dialogue that doesn’t quite work. In the end, I think the biggest problem here is that the story is just not worth telling. It’s not exciting or interesting enough (at least in the way it was put together) to justify Mann’s talents.
Also, if I was going to make a movie about a computer hacker, I would have him doing a lot more hacking and less gun / knife play.
Big positive here though is that they get a lot of the technology right in the film which is a pleasant change of pace for Hollywood computer movies.
Not terrible and I didn’t hate it by any means. Just average and that was disappointing. Recommended for Michael Mann completists.