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#736 - Hackers
Iain Softley, 1995
A group of teenage hackers become embroiled in a corporate conspiracy.
It's always interesting to see films that are so thoroughly embody the aesthetics and sensibilites of the decades in which they were made to the point where deriding them as "dated" is practically missing the point. While the mid-'90s yielded no small number of films that encapsulated both the quirky fashions and the jaded mentalities of Generation X (often to a fault), it's hard to find one as connected to the zeitgeist as Hackers. As the name suggests, Hackers follows the adventures of a small collective of teenage computer hackers as they gradually come together in the face of sordid revelations involving a corrupt corporation. The protagonist is one especially prodigious hacker (Jonny Lee Miller) who is looking to reintegrate into society following his own disgraceful hacking scandal but can't help but be drawn to the challenge by not only his inherently righteous nature but also by his belligerent relationship with a fellow student (Angelina Jolie).
If anything, the main appeal in watching Hackers these days seems to be less to do with any following the developments of its convoluted plot or haphazard characterisation than it is to do with observing the film's general aesthetic, especially when it came to either depicting or predicting the rise of the hacker sub-culture. Watching this 1995 film for the first time in 2015 definitely has the unintended effect of making things look goofy, whether it's through the predictably TRON-like visual representations of computer hacking or the use of incredibly dated technology (especially considering how much of the film's conflict is driven by the search for information that can be stored on a 3½" floppy disk). The mid-'90s aesthetic shines through in many other ways such as through Matthew Lillard's character's consistently eccentric wardrobe choices or the thumping techno-driven soundtrack. Unfortunately, making the film into a veritable time capsule in terms of both its audio and visuals does little to actually make it work as an actual film. Hackers then becomes something of a chore when you try to pay attention to the plot, alternately creating an unlikely bond between Miller and Jolie while also having them collaborate with others to fight off both federal agents and criminal hackers. It's a relatively short film and it certainly tries to have more brains than your typical Generation X film, but shades of computer literacy and techno-backed cleverness do little to redeem this film as anything other than a colourful curiosity.
Iain Softley, 1995
A group of teenage hackers become embroiled in a corporate conspiracy.
It's always interesting to see films that are so thoroughly embody the aesthetics and sensibilites of the decades in which they were made to the point where deriding them as "dated" is practically missing the point. While the mid-'90s yielded no small number of films that encapsulated both the quirky fashions and the jaded mentalities of Generation X (often to a fault), it's hard to find one as connected to the zeitgeist as Hackers. As the name suggests, Hackers follows the adventures of a small collective of teenage computer hackers as they gradually come together in the face of sordid revelations involving a corrupt corporation. The protagonist is one especially prodigious hacker (Jonny Lee Miller) who is looking to reintegrate into society following his own disgraceful hacking scandal but can't help but be drawn to the challenge by not only his inherently righteous nature but also by his belligerent relationship with a fellow student (Angelina Jolie).
If anything, the main appeal in watching Hackers these days seems to be less to do with any following the developments of its convoluted plot or haphazard characterisation than it is to do with observing the film's general aesthetic, especially when it came to either depicting or predicting the rise of the hacker sub-culture. Watching this 1995 film for the first time in 2015 definitely has the unintended effect of making things look goofy, whether it's through the predictably TRON-like visual representations of computer hacking or the use of incredibly dated technology (especially considering how much of the film's conflict is driven by the search for information that can be stored on a 3½" floppy disk). The mid-'90s aesthetic shines through in many other ways such as through Matthew Lillard's character's consistently eccentric wardrobe choices or the thumping techno-driven soundtrack. Unfortunately, making the film into a veritable time capsule in terms of both its audio and visuals does little to actually make it work as an actual film. Hackers then becomes something of a chore when you try to pay attention to the plot, alternately creating an unlikely bond between Miller and Jolie while also having them collaborate with others to fight off both federal agents and criminal hackers. It's a relatively short film and it certainly tries to have more brains than your typical Generation X film, but shades of computer literacy and techno-backed cleverness do little to redeem this film as anything other than a colourful curiosity.