Blackhat (Michael Mann)

Sad Professor

First trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKyuDgygvqc

For if/when this gets taken down:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/blackhat/

Oafley Jones

Mann really has a giant boner for alpha males in tense situations. Is he still using the Viper system?

Sad Professor

The Alexa XT with anamorphic lenses, I think.

It looks okay.

Telecaster58

Meh. He used to be a good director

Bipolar Joe

Computers and movies very rarely mix well .

Sad Professor

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

Computers and movies very rarely mix well .

Well, hackers and movies certainly don’t anyway. I loved the use of computers in The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And there are other good examples in recent years.

krudler

Looks a bit generic story wise tbh, hopefully it's just marketing billing it as something it isn't and there's a bit more to it.

McGrath5

Looks like an interesting story, will keep an eye out for this one.

bnt

First reviews are in and are decidedly mixed. Rolling Stone mag likes it, The Guardian doesn't.

Trailers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ1ZDlLImF8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VGIHBgj45g

JP Liz V1

I like Chris Hemsworth mainly as Thor but as a hacker and the lead in a Michael Mann film can he pull it off not so sure from the trailers tbh

e_e

For every panning of the film I've seen there also certainly seems to be some passionate defenses. I look forward to seeing it for this reason, seems like a bit of a curate's egg.

Goldstein

Seems to be a very devisive one from initial reactions. There doesn't seem to be much middle-ground. Another one of his, Miami Vice, imo was a great movie that seemed to be cool to hate and was panned by many (not all) who'd made up their minds before watching it and couldn't judge it on merit even when they did. I'll bet on a Michael Mann marmite film any day (Once it's not Public Enemies).

Bacchus

Real throwback to the movies of the 90's when de Interweb was this big, scary thing and hackers were either skinny little nerds or misunderstood, gun totting, tough guys. This looks utterly stupid but could be good fun.

Also, China! That'll do no harm to the box office earnings.

johnny_ultimate

There's a moment at the start of Blackhat where a computerised camera enters a computer, capturing the circuitry and components in a gritty (dust and all) yet increasingly stylised manner. A fitting symbol for a film that achieves some wonderful things in the realm of digital cinematography.

Mann and his DOP use the unique assets and limitations of digital like nobody else. The visuals are raw and grubby, packed with a nervous and unstable energy that suits the mood of the film. Yet Mann also takes advantage of sharpness of digital colouring and the nimbleness of the smaller form digital cameras (shaky cam is used with ruthless, brutal efficiency here). Visually the film is a beautiful mix of abstract and grounded, matched by some visceral and cheeky editing (Mann frequently cuts away from extraordinary shots with the bravery and nonchalance of a director constantly on the search for the next interesting composition). Even the obligatory aerial establish shots of cities feel fresh here.

The film spends around forty five minutes focusing almost exclusively on the mechanics of its labyrinthine and rote thriller plot, which detracts from the more nuanced cinematic storytelling elsewhere. But for the most part the film achieves a balance between punchy, kinetic action (fans of Heat will be glad to hear you can feel the force of every single bullet) and quiet but super-slick moments of downtime. The sound design is extraordinary throughout, so make sure you see it with surround sound.

Narratively Blackhat is intriguing, silly and derivative, albeit translating familiar elements into a fresh and thematically potent technological context. And characterisation is largely non-existent, not helped by stony performances throughout (although there is an admirable clarity and simplicity in the way Mann explores some of the relationship). But stylistically this film is alive with energy, enthusiasm and the spirit of experimentation. It's eager to explore the aesthetic potential of oft maligned technology. I'm not a massive Michael Mann fan, but his signature is all over this and it's often a pleasure to witness.

happysunnydays

Mann can be hit or miss. His films look great always in urban backdrops with cool lighting. Normally I'd look forward..... but the casting is too strange on this one, no? Chris Hemsworth doesn't seem the hacker type to me. What were they thinking?

happysunnydays

happysunnydays wrote: »

Mann can be hit or miss. His films look great always in urban backdrops with cool lighting. Normally I'd look forward..... but the casting is too strange on this one, no? Chris Hemsworth doesn't seem the hacker type to me. What were they thinking?

Mann is always hit for me. Nobody directs with his style, he's one of a kind. I could enjoy his films just for the visuals, they are good enough reason to watch his movies even if the story isn't a gripping one or to my taste.

e_e

Deleted User wrote: »

Mann is always hit for me. Nobody directs with his style, he's one of a kind. I could enjoy his films just for the visuals, they are good enough reason to watch his movies even if the story isn't a gripping one or to my taste.

Yep, Miami Vice is a perfect example of this. Average script, visually dazzling film.

Decuc500

I was expecting more of a film focusing on computers and hacking and while it does concentrate on the tech side Blackhat is also a terrifically exciting thriller.
The use of digital cameras sweeping in and out of the action really give it a dynamic feel.
It’s basically Michael Mann’s greatest hits condensed into one film.
With the globetrotting locations, psychotic bad guy and exhilarating shoot outs it’s almost Mann’s Bond movie.
Very impressive stuff.

eternal

Is this worth going to?

Giruilla

eternal wrote: »

Is this worth going to?

It's not Mann at his best.. but it's FAR better than public enemies. Johnny Depp not being in it helps a lot.

Theres one or two laugh out loud bad moments, but the whole film is beautifully shot and I could rewatch the film just for that.

Chris Hemsworth does a good job, but he was badly miscast.

e_e

I enjoyed it. It's Mann doing what he does and not giving a crap about reigning in his style or tightening the narrative.

Agent Coulson

I enjoyed it quiet a lot. There are lots of thing wrong with it Chris Hemsworth is probably the wrong lead but who turns down a chance to work with Michael Mann.

It's got all the style of a Michael Mann film that alone is worth it for me.

Genuinely baffled by how poorly received Blackhat was upon it's initial release. By all accounts it's a film which divided audiences and critics right down the middle, it seems that either you loved it or you hated it with no real middle ground.

Taken for what it is, Blackhat isn't vintage Mann and pales in comparison to Heat, Manhunter, Thief, etc but on it's own merits Blackhat is one of the most enjoyable thrillers to come along this year. Visually the film is classic Mann with many of the compositions have a somewhat abstract feel, Mann recognises that shooting on digital means that the end product will always have that digital sheen and as such he embraces it like few others. In a wonderfully inspired opening scene, Mann showcases a heist like no other as the camera journeys through a computer mainframe as it tracks lines of code as they traverse trough the gird. It's a visually dazzling and daring opening which sets the mood and tone from the very start.

Given Mann's penchant for realism, it's surprising just how out there much of Blackhat is. While the set up is grounded in reality the manner in which it plays out is decidedly cinematic and as such gives the film a nice old fashioned B film feel. This is a film all about the atmosphere and Mann creates a constant sense of foreboding aided by his now trademark shooting from the hip style and reliance on onset audio, dialogue is lost in a haze of gunshots and explosions giving the film a sense of realism that few manage. The hands on shooting style brings us right into the action and the use of close up during action scenes offers an intimacy that is unmatched. Ably supported by an electro score, Blackhat is at once a damning attack on our reliance on technology aswell as a bright and playful B thriller which hurtles from one set piece to the next, yet remains a relevant and contemporary film that has a lot to say about how technology is over taking the world and how the lack of a human element may not be all it's cracked up to be.

Blackhat may never come close to reaching the dizzying height of Mann at his best, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a damn fine film. It's a treat for the eyes and once again confirms that when it comes to shooting action no one can touch Mann.

Skerries

the feel of the film was more like Miami Vice than the much cooler Collateral

jones

I actually totally missed this and love Mann's older stuff so think i'll check it out.
As people say he's a real visual director much like the maligned Zac Snyder visually amazing although unfortunately the scripts aren't always the same

Sad Professor

jones wrote: »

I actually totally missed this and love Mann's older stuff so think i'll check it out.
As people say he's a real visual director much like the maligned Zac Snyder visually amazing although unfortunately the scripts aren't always the same

I think you are confusing Michael Mann with Michael Bay.

pinksoir

Yeah, I can't understand the 5.4 rating on IMDB. A solid 7/10 for me. It's Mann all over and while nowhere near his best it's a gripping slow burner.

jones

Sad Professor wrote: »

I think you are confusing Michael Mann with Michael Bay.

Bay is a hack although I'll give him the first hour of the first transformers film was brilliant in the cinema.

syklops

I dont understand the love for this film. 2/10 for me.

Tipsy McSwagger

Turned this off after 45mins, it's awful. Hemsworth is totally unbelievable as a hacker, his character gets free reign to run around the city and can beat up a gang of triads and get away with it, the Chinese love interest is a terrible actress and the whole movie is a big fat piece of Chinese propaganda. Worst film I have seen this year by far.

shazzerman

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Turned this off after 45mins, it's awful. Hemsworth is totally unbelievable as a hacker, his character gets free reign to run around the city and can beat up a gang of triads and get away with it, the Chinese love interest is a terrible actress and the whole movie is a big fat piece of Chinese propaganda. Worst film I have seen this year by far.

Or, perhaps, the worst film you haven't seen this year. Really liked it myself. Mann inflecting generic tropes to create his own unique brand of modern thriller. Tang Wei is very good in Lust, Caution.

syklops

eternal wrote: »

Is this worth going to?

Its a case of either loving it or hating it. I hated it. Some people love it.

Give it a go I suppose.

FortuneChip

Gotta say I hated it.

Also, the characters are all so ridiculously bland.
I was concerned about Chris Hemsworth after Thor. He reassured me with a great performance in Rush.
The doubts have returned.

Very disappointing, especially for the Mann behind Heat & Collateral

Alfred Borden

Absolute garbage. I like most of Mann's work but this was terrible. The acting is dire.

Saw it last night. Mmm. Honestly, I didn't think it was great at all. As others have said, Hemmsworth isn't a believable hacker at all and, for some reason, he's a trained fighter. Deadpan acting. I got slightly bored, but kept going, and couldn't understand why it suddenly became a big action movie towards the end.

Funnily, Hackers was a better movie about hacking.

syklops

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Saw it last night. Mmm. Honestly, I didn't think it was great at all. As others have said, Hemmsworth isn't a believable hacker at all and, for some reason, he's a trained fighter. Deadpan acting. I got slightly bored, but kept going, and couldn't understand why it suddenly became a big action movie towards the end.

Funnily, Hackers was a better movie about hacking.

I wonder is there any correlation between peoples opinion of hackers(the movie) and peoples opinion of Blackhat. Personally I love Hackers and hated Blackhat. I wonder is that a common opinion and is the reverse also true.

FortuneChip

I haven't seen Hackers in a long long time, and I can tell you "I did not like Blackhat"
Whatever about the approach to hacking, the acting was poor. The characters weren't even two-dimensional, they were just vacant personalities delivering dialogue (poorly)

I think the thing about Hackers is that it knew what it was and had so much fun with it. The acting was pretty great, the comedy was fantastic, Angelina Jolie was smokin' hot, and they were actually relatively convinceable hackers, even though what they were doing was not.

Chris Hemmsworth in this is like when they tried to have Joel McHale in the American version of the IT Crowd. He's far too good looking and buff.

syklops

Deleted User wrote: »

I think the thing about Hackers is that it knew what it was and had so much fun with it. The acting was pretty great, the comedy was fantastic, Angelina Jolie was smokin' hot, and they were actually relatively convinceable hackers, even though what they were doing was not.

Chris Hemmsworth in this is like when they tried to have Joel McHale in the American version of the IT Crowd. He's far too good looking and buff.

Thats exactly it. You can't make a move about hacking which will still be entertaining to non-hackers. You just can't do it. So when making hackers they had some fun with it. Lots of visual effects, Some references to bona fide hacking culture, attractive stars who can all roller blade. It's cyberpunk effectively.

Blackhat didn't know what it was. Its not quite Jason Bourne, its definitely not James Bond and its not Sneakers. I said in the InfoSec forum that it makes Die Hard 4 look like Laurence of Arabia and that got a few laughs.

brevity

Could not get into this movie at all. Felt like they were trying to do Bourne with computers. The pacing was off and whoever picked the score was confused at best. The supposed love story was nonsensical and the actors just felt like they didn't know what to do.

Felt like a script that someone found down the back of the couch and several people threw their ideas into it.

Poor.

e_e

Was initially intrigued by this film on the first viewing but I just watched it for a second time and was completely bowled over by it. On a cinematographic level I think this just may be the most beautiful technology-themed film since Blade Runner. It's also pretty radical in how it eschews narrative and character in favor of pure tone and theme, signifying the need for human conflict and connection in an increasingly digitized world. It even goes to the extent of emphasizing environmental sound and images over the voices and physical presence of the characters, when you realize that it's done with real purpose the film has a really powerful and immersive effect.

Dare I say it, a contender for Mann's best? I think this film's stature will grow over time when people realize that it's not the thrill-a-minute hacking movie many expected.

e_e

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/theres-a-new-version-of-michael-manns-blackhat-and-its-really-different-20160211

Mann made a director's cut and I for one really hope it gets a release.