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Blackhat

year 2015decade 10sdirector Michael Manngenre Actiongenre Crime

133 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Chris Hemsworth Nick Hathaway
Viola Davis Carol Barrett
Wei Tang Chen Lien
Leehom Wang Chen Dawai
Ritchie Coster Elias Kassar
Holt McCallany Mark Jessup

Blackhat | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryan
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Commercial withdrawal; rejected score; security expert endorsement

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:44Read transcript
  • Universal reportedly withdrew the film from all but 236 theaters within two weeks, and Legendary took a $90 million write-down.
  • Harry Gregson-Williams reportedly saw the film and publicly objected that little of his score remained despite his credit; Mann defended choosing music according to his own vision.
  • A manager of Google’s information-security engineering team reportedly called it the most accurate information-security film she had seen, prompting jokes about the small field.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:38Read transcript
  • Roger Ebert had died before this film; Matt Zoller Seitz’s review on RogerEbert.com gave three and a half out of four.

Picking Nits

Unestablished fighting skills; elaborate hideout; exposed gunfighters; handsome hacker; distant dialogue; helicopter conversation; precise wound preparation; replaced dialogue

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:36Read transcript
  • An early prison fight is proposed to establish Hathaway’s combat ability before the restaurant brawl.
  • The elaborate basement tunnel and booby traps prompt questions about who could construct them discreetly.
  • Barrett and Jessup fail to take defensive cover in the shootout.
  • Hemsworth is considered implausibly handsome for the hacker role.
  • The final confrontation’s dialogue could not plausibly be heard across a loud cultural event at such a distance.
  • The helicopter conversation about Hathaway dating Dawai’s sister, supposedly on a private channel, is criticized.
  • The couple seems prepared for the exact wounds Hathaway will receive, with supplies, scarf, and magazine armor enabling his survival.
  • Replacing dialogue across the opening 25 minutes to support the reordered plot is criticized as especially odd for a $70 million film.

Casting What-Ifs

None found

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:53:36Read transcript
  • No casting alternatives from production research were found.

Recasting Couch

Adam Driver as Hathaway; Jon Bernthal as the hacker villain; Hemsworth with Australian accent

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:13Read transcript
  • DiCaprio is considered too old by 2015, while keeping Hemsworth with an Australian accent is defended.
  • Hathaway could have entered prison thin and built his physique there; the role still needs physicality.
  • Jeremy Renner around 2009 is an appealing possibility, but he might already be too old for the 2015 film.
  • Miles Teller is considered too young for a character presumed to be in his mid-thirties; Gyllenhaal is floated.
  • Adam Driver emerges as the preferred alternative because he can plausibly be both a hacker and physically formidable.
  • Jon Bernthal is proposed as the hacker villain, though the discussion acknowledges his negative experience with Mann and questions his plausibility as a hacker.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Ease of hacking; airline Wi-Fi; immediate romance; casting comparison; reason for final fight

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:23Read transcript
  • How easily can an elite hacker gain access to another person’s computer, and is learning the language the main barrier? The discussion acknowledges limited technical knowledge.
  • An aircraft’s shared internet connection is imagined as an easy target for Hathaway, while eerily relevant advertising illustrates everyday anxiety about surveillance.
  • Why would Hathaway immediately enter a serious romance after release, and what would the couple discuss once the hacking crisis ends?
  • The casting of another Asian actress is compared to Mann’s Miami Vice collaboration with Gong Li, with a correction that she knew English.
  • Why not leave with the stolen money instead of fighting? Revenge and a need to confront the only worthy adversary are offered as competing explanations.

Producer review

Difficult jargon; unsatisfying physical finale; repeated chip shots

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:20Read transcript
  • A late-night first viewing was difficult because of the dense technical jargon.
  • The ending disappoints by resolving a technical thriller through a fistfight and stabbing; using hacking to defeat the villain, perhaps by rerouting a flight, is proposed.
  • The repeated digital journeys inside a microchip prompted fast-forwarding.