Reviewed by Jim Clements
Synopsis
Chris Hemsworth plays Nicholas Hathaway, a convicted cyber-criminal who gets furloughed from his prison sentence so he can help the CIA and FBI track down and stop a hacker who caused a meltdown at a Chinese nuclear power plant. It is not long before they find that the attack on the Chinese power plant was no more than a rehearsal for a much larger series of attacks. The story unfolds across the globe from Chicago, to LA, to Hong Kong and even Jakarta.
Specifications
- Universal
- 2015, Color, Rated R, 2 Hr 14 mins
- DTS-HD Master 5.1, 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio
- Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Wei Tang, Viola Davis and Leehom Wang
- Directed by: Michael Mann
Rating
- Entertainment:
- Video:
- Audio:
- Extras:
- Violence: Yes
- Sex: No
- Language: No
Commentary
A quick check on-line reveals that this movie has received highly mixed reviews. Most people either loved the film or hated it. The haters cite a lot of reasons for their negative reviews and I must agree with two points – the pace of the film is extremely languid and the movie is way longer than it needs to be, clocking in at over two hours in length. But I think I get what the film makers were trying to do with this piece so I am awarding the movie 3 stars. The movie is dreamy and abstract, kind of like the way I would imagine the dark web. I just don’t get why they cast Hemsworth in the lead role. Hackers aren’t supposed to be dreamy, good looking guys who are experts in hand-to-hand combat. Oh well, the times are a changin’ I suppose. This Blu-ray is a solid rental choice for a rainy day.
Technical
This movie was shot on video with a muted color palette. There are also a few scenes with the shaky-camera effect and blanched contrast. This was apparently all done to set the tone for the film and as part of the storytelling. This is passed by the Blu-ray largely unabated. I am deducting one star because there were a number of scenes with a soft image and I was not convinced that is was done purposefully in all cases.
The audio was more impressive. Voices were natural and easily understood while the background music sounded terrific. There were a lot of scenes with gunshots, explosions and other effects that were well rendered. Kudos too that the audio displayed a wide dynamic range which is better than I can say about many of the Blu-rays I have watched this last year.
Extras
This is a two-disc set with the Blu-ray, a DVD and a Digital HD Ultraviolet code. The on-disc extras are all in HD and include – “The Cyber Threat” a short piece on the real world of cyber criminals, “On Location Around the World” a piece about the importance of filming on location with additional information about the locations featured in the movie, and “Creating Reality” which covers the importance of character deveopment.