Blackhat Movie Review

This is honestly one of the most difficult films I have ever reviewed, I don't think I have ever been more divided on a film in my entire life!

Possessing a filmography with action favourites Heat and Collateral, Michael Mann is clearly a man with supreme understanding of the action/thriller genre. In my eyes, he is the king of "hand-held cam" and can construct beautifully executed action sequences which immerse you into his films. You feel as if you are involved within the shoot out, which is a very difficult thing for a director to achieve without being tempted by endless cuts and shaky cam. Mann transfers these qualities into his latest film Blackhat, but it is no Heat and it is no Collateral.

In fact, Blackhat is one of the most divisive films I think I have ever seen. There are times when I was completely transfixed on the screen mesmerised with what was unfolding in front of me. However, it wasn't in sheer amazement, rather confusion. I'm still not sure whether Blackhat is an unfathomably terrible disappointment or a masterful constructed "B" movie. There are a lot of things to enjoy with this movie; one of them being the shoot out sequences. The film also has some excellent cinematography, particularly at night time, and some visceral sound editing and a pumping musical score.

Blackhat really springs to life during these sequences yet is not a great movie at all. The script for this movie has some gaping wholes in it. Had the writing been more solid then I think I would have loved this movie, but the writing is piss poor at times and completely shoots the movie in the foot. The supporting characters are unforgettable and might as well be shop dummies. They have nothing special about them, they're wafer thin in terms of development. At times, characters die and you should grieve for them, but you don't; you simply do not care.

The dialogue for this movie ranges from "this is potentially genius" to "oh my god, how did they get away with writing that?". There are times when you think they're doing something really clever and to the writer's credit, at times they do. The film is about cyber crime for goodness sake, something interesting and relevant in contemporary society. But Blackhat's screenplay lures the film back into the same old trap; you can't decide whether this is so bad that it's good or so advanced that it's terrible.

I don't for one second buy Chris Hemsworth as a computer hacker. He's a great Thor, he was a perfect James Hunt, but not a computer hacker. In real life, a computer hacker would not have supermodel looks and the combat skills that Hemsworth's character possesses. While his character is somewhat underdeveloped, I still liked him due to Hemsworth's undeniable screen presence and the stardom he brought to the role.

While Blackhat is at times mesmerising, it often falls into the "so bad its good category" over the "this is genuinely brilliant". The finale of the film pretty much sums up what Blackhat is about. It's undeniably entertaining but it doesn't show any creative spark with it's execution. Instead, we get a cliché face off with cookie cutter villains. A Michael Mann action film about cyber terrorism should have been brilliant but was disappointing. However, I will never forget how indifferent I was during my viewing of this film. So in that sense, I have to say thank you Michael Mann, just try harder next time!


Rating - C+


Thanks for reading,
Matt