Michael Mann’s ‘Blackhat’ Was Ahead of Its Time and Remains Underrated

The big picture

• Michael Mann creates a film that immerses viewers in the real, high-stakes world of cyber-terrorism, while staying true to his visually striking style.
• Chris Hemsworth's performance as the hacker brings gravitas and emotional depth, defying stereotypes and adding nuance to the film's themes.
• Blackhat
  It may have faced criticism upon release, but its realistic portrayal of virtual dangers and powerful ensemble cast make it a fascinating entry in Mann's filmography.

Michael Mann teamed up with Chris Hemsworth in 2015 for an action thriller about hacking and cyber terrorism. Blackhat follows Hemsworth as a convicted hacker who is released from prison to assist in an investigation after an undercover hacker organization sabotages a nuclear site in Hong Kong. As with many of Mann's films, the insistence on authenticity can make audiences feel uneasy, but Blackhat it's simply a movie that demands a lot of attention. The film was criticized for structural and pacing issues, as well as Hemsworth's casting. Despite mixed reception at the time, Blackhat it is revealing itself as a film that audiences may not have been ready for at the time.

There is a growing appreciation for the film's authentic depiction of cyber-terrorism and the technical elements that most Hollywood films tend to overlook or depict in cartoony fashion. Blackhat continues Mann's experimentation with digital filmmaking, being the first of his films to be entirely shot digitally. The unique, high-speed look of his latest films is based here, and it feels resonant considering that the film deals with issues related to the expansion of new technologies. Blackhat It may not be at the top of the list for many critics or fans when evaluating Mann's entire career, but the film is becoming an important and interesting point in his filmography compared to as first received in 2015. and realistic depiction of a terrifying new frontier of virtual dangers that threaten the material world Blackhat a fascinating variation on Mann's tried and true methods.

A powerful ensemble completes the cast of 'Blackhat'

Criticism surrounding Hemsworth's casting became something of a punching bag around the speech of Blackhat. Some had a hard time buying a movie star as good looking as someone who is skilled at anything involving a computer. This point falls apart under scrutiny, as it is ultimately reductive and reflects an audience unwilling to engage seriously with the film from the get-go. Hemsworth even said himself, in a 2019 Variety profile, that he wasn't happy with his performance. As a counterpoint to this, Hemsworth portrays the character with gravity and it works in a similar way Colin FarrellMann's performance Miami Vice. Mann's protagonists are often emotionally detached from everything around them, and this can make a performance feel stale until a closer viewing allows for a greater appreciation of the character's nuances.

Hemsworth is joined by the Chinese actress Tang Weiwhich notably had an eliminatory performance Park Chan-Wook's Decision to leaveas well as Viola Davis i Mindhunter's Holt McCallany. Wei portrays the sister of the man who worked with Hemsworth to write the code that has since been used by enemy hackers. Hemsworth and Wei develop a romantic relationship throughout the film, which complicates their work and raises the stakes for each of them. Wei plays one of the most important female leads in a Mann filmand she is given plenty of room to join the action rather than being sidelined as a purely love interest.

Davis and McCallany orbit the film as authority figures who need Hemsworth for their goal to be completed, but initially disagree that he should play such a prominent role in their mission. They are joined by some other solid character actors, as Mann tends to pack his films with supporting roles for actors like John Ortiz who may not be household names, but who always bring something fresh to the film they're in.

In 'Blackhat', Michael Mann approaches technology with authenticity and foresight

In 2015, some viewers may have found the idea of ​​a nuclear facility remotely sabotaged by a team of hackers too much, but this was loosely based on a real life incidentt involves a computer worm that ran the Iranian nuclear program. The other incident that kicks off the film's plot involved an attack on economic structures, another real threat posed by cybercrime's unimaginable potential. It's mind-boggling to imagine nuclear plants melting down and economies crashing as a result of keystrokes on a distant computer terminal, but information security experts say Blackhat it is a fairly authentic representation of the reality of cyber terrorism. Google's principal information security engineer called Blackhat “the most accurate information security film”.

Michael Mann is a detail-oriented filmmaker, so he makes sure that a foray into the world of hacking would bring to light real aspects of this field that viewers might not be familiar with. The movie contains some heavy jargon and doesn't hold your hand through everything that's going on. However, you can trust that even with artistic license taken for the sake of being cinematic, Mann has done his research, creating a cinema experience that will immerse viewers in a new world. Hacking is not inherently cinematic, like almost anything that involves characters using computers or smartphones as a plot point in a movie or TV show. Framing scenes with such high stakes in a way where all we're seeing are characters looking at busy screens of information we don't understand can be pretty boring. Mann is not a boring filmmakerso when the action comes from within the virtual world, it places us within that world.

As Mann's neon aesthetic draws us into the computer terminal itself to reveal dazzling patterns of criss-crossing grids, wires, and lights, the image evokes a similar sensation to viewing the cityscape of Los Angeles il· lit with cool blue in Mann's epic crime masterpiece. heat. Mann's visual style blends perfectly with this representation of the virtual world as vast and dimensional as an animated metropolis. You might think that when making a hacking film you have to choose between entertainment or authenticity, but Mann quickly proves with this underrated film that you can do both.

Blackhat is currently available to stream on Netflix in the United States

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