The critical community seems to have already decided that Blackhat is either Michael Mann’s absolute worst film, making even Public Enemies look like a work of genius in comparison, or the latest elegiac, technical work of criminal brilliance from one of our generation’s greatest crime story tellers. There are plenty of elements to enjoy in Mann’s Blackhat, though it isn’t ultimately a great film. Believe it or not, internet, this kind of stance is possible. I’ll even outline it below, just after I load up this RAT via a falsified IP address… but don’t worry, I’m a whitehat.
A furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.
Sitting in a theater and taking in a Michael Mann film is something special, and not to be taken lightly. Blackhat certainly feels like it takes place in the Mann-o-verse, with the latest digital cinematography techniques being utilized to display some of the most gorgeous urban night-scapes cameras can capture. Nobody films nights in the city like Michael Mann (and his cinematographer on this venture, Stuart Dryburgh). The neon, rain-drenched streets from LA to Hong Kong to Jakarta are on full display here, with results that are occasionally breathtaking.
On top of that, the characters all speak heavy techno-jargon in cool, measured tones. Professional people doing professional things are often the subjects of Mann’s stories, with Blackhat being no different. Everything is handled with a largely dead serious tone. It is enjoyable being privy to conversations between smart people who are good at their jobs trying to outsmart other, more evil people, who might ultimately be even smarter. Then when those same people take their cool demeanors onto the streets and engage in precise cat and mouse chases and gunfights, a cinematic happy place is achieved. We get all of that stuff here in Blackhat, too!
Beginning with humorously dramatic computerized visualizations of a hack taking place, we see a nuclear reactor explosion in China, followed by a stock market hack in the US. Someone is planning something big, our characters deduce, and computer espionage prevention teams in both the US and China jump into action. These teams are filled with the brightest and the best. Operatives who know what they are doing and how to handle themselves. But they also need a giant, blonde-haired, western genius hero to come in and ultimately get the job done.
Which leads us to several of the film’s problems. Look… Michael Mann’s films have always included broodingly sexy male heroes who live by codes and are the best at what they do. But with the combination of Chris Hemsworth’s seeming miscasting here mixed with writer Morgan Davis Foehl’s dry and somewhat thrill-less screenplay, all the normal Mann tricks don’t have the potency they often do.
While the film’s graphical depiction of hacking doesn’t look particularly egregious, opting for simple code on the screens most of the time rather than “fancy” graphical interfaces which will be mercilessly mocked 5 years from now, it does seem that portraying the ever evolving and complex world of hacking as a subject for compelling cinema is proving elusive to capture well. And mixing an impossibly chiseled hero who is as good with a sharpened screwdriver and phonebook body armor as he is with a laptop just doesn’t jive with the tech nerd ethos. There’s a shirtless shot of Chris Hemsworth displaying his impeccable physique which caused a man in our theater to audibly cackle. The guy is just so attractive and shredded there’s almost no other appropriate reaction. And if there’s anything that real world hacker collective Anonymous proves, it is that hackers working together under a united cause can accomplish frighteningly effective results. The anonymous, communal aspect of hacking maybe just doesn’t jive well with the All-American-hero archetype.
And for as enjoyable as it is basking in the gorgeous night photography that can’t be replicated in a movie shot on film, there are some elements of Mann’s digital photography which are still wholly unappealing, aesthetically. There is a motion smoothing effect evident throughout the film which brings to mind traumatic memories of The Hobbit in 48 frames per second or that first day you turned on your brand new HDTV only to find the video game default setting on, rendering your first experience on your brand new TV to be horrifyingly video game-like. There were compositions and sequences in Blackhat that were absolutely breathtaking, calling to mind the greatest moments of Mann’s career, such as the bank shoot-out in Heat. But there were just as many cringe-worthy moments of artificial-feeling smoothed over motion that still carry the stigma of cheapness with them, in spite of being captured with undoubtedly top of the line cameras. All of this is an aesthetic discussion, so incredibly subjective. Many viewers won’t notice any of this and it would therefore have no bearing on their assessment of the film. But with Mann being so famous for the look of his films and his embrace of digital cinematography, the discussion was more relevant here in Blackhat than it would be with the works of most other directors.
Ultimately Blackhat is a failure. While it isn’t as dumb as it might’ve been, it certainly isn’t any kind of definitive hacker story of our generation (which we had every right to hope it would be). After the fascinating, new world order style hacking we’ve seen go down in the past few months regarding Sony and North Korea, as well as Anonymous’ announcement that they’ll be targeting terrorist websites in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo slayings, hacking is more relevant as a tool for international espionage and social change than it has ever been. Blackhat offers nothing new to the conversation that we haven’t already been over in cinema over the past decade and in our collective news consumption over the past year. It has some thrilling sequences, with life breathed into them almost entirely through exciting direction and camera work, rather than via compelling characters or a crackling script. While the unique brand of stoic toughness that Mann brings to his characters is time-honored, and it is enjoyable sitting in a theater and listening to Mann-esque characters do and say Mann-esque things, the lack of compellingly fleshed out characters or unique takes on the subject matter will allow this film to slip quickly out of the public consciousness, as well as my own.
And I’m Out.
