Hacked - Kein Leben ist sicher

IT is very much a "by the numbers" thriller.

There's nothing on offer here the viewer has, in one form or other, not seen before. Take an executive, add in a deranged IT guy and, of course, a loving family to protect and that's, pretty much it.

The acting is fine and, to be fair, Pierce Brosnan, in particular, hands in a very good performance. The action scenes are polished too. Indeed, in many respects, this film ticks most of boxes you would expect. Alas, this is not enough to save this now rather predictable affair from the label or "ordinary".

Watch by all means, just don't expect to be thrilled or even a little surprised. Six out of ten from me.

Pierce Brosnan stars here as Mike Regan, owner of an aviation company that needs a proposed public offering to be successful so it can stay afloat financially. During a presentation of a key company mobile app that will enable people to hire private and corporate jets, Mike is impressed with the tech skills of a temp employed there, and wants to hire him full-time.

However, it will soon become apparent that the temp (James Frecheville) is a most disturbed lunatic, and is intent on ruining Mike's personal and business life, as well of that of Mike's wife (Anna Friel) and daughter (Stefanie Scott). All of the lead actors here give solid performances, and the fine actor Michael Nyqvist is excellent in a supporting role.

All in all, there's a decent amount of tension and suspense maintained in the film, but it is marred somewhat by some highly incredulous plot elements and what I thought was a rather ridiculous ending. For me, it all added up to a fairly decent watch if one doesn't take it all too seriously.

This is a bizarre movie -- for reasons few will notice. It's a thriller about a wealthy man who founded and is CEO of a big private jet manufacturing company. Quite rich, Brosnan gets entangled with a deranged computer hacker working as an I.T. temp in his company. It's perhaps a mediocre movie, but I was transfixed by the tale.

You see, this wealthy CEO -- seeking to make much more money by taking the company public -- was the GOOD GUY. His employees really liked him, and they had a great working relationship.

I can't recall the last movie I watched where a profit-seeking wealthy person was the hero. I kept expecting his fatal capitalist flaw to appear -- uncontrollable greed, yada, yada, yada. It didn't happen.

(Yeah, Bruce Wayne was wealthy, but never do you hear him discussing making more money. Just giving his daddy's money away, making more Batman toys -- and living large.)

I'm not necessarily recommending the movie to you, but perhaps it's worth seeing JUST for this "man bites dog" reason. It's a reminder that it's not ABSOLUTELY necessary for movie makers to always portray rich people as villains.

One thing's for sure -- it won't start a trend in movies. Not a chance.

I find it curious those that state this is the same formula of person doesn't turn out who you think they are that's been done so many times in Hollywood. I disagree. (I personally think the age of the person writing the review should be included so as to tell the maturity level of the reviewer so that one knows when reading their review just how much to put in to the value of said review).

I found this movie quite good. One reviewer said they didn't like Brosnan's accent. Really? Check fact it for yourself...it's his native tongue. He's Irish. That was my first hint of the level of maturity of some of the reviewers. Someone who doesn't know the actors enough to even know where they are from. Top that off with not even looking his bio up before critiquing his "accent" in their review. (Sad to think that this is journalist current trends - who needs to check anything out before writing about it). Take it from me, bypass the 5 star or less reviews and watch the movie.

The story is a cautionary tale. Not for the persons in their 50's and older. The caution is for the immature viewers thinking this was far fetched and it might possibly could happen. Oh, it can. It has happened and will continue to happen. I bet there is not one reviewer who marked this movie at 5 or less that thinks something like this could ever happen to them because they are smarter then the average psycho. Think again and think long and hard about it. The easiest prey are those who think it will never happen to them and do no safeguarding. You know the type, they walk around with their face in a smartphone, never paying attention to who's watching them.

I feel sorry for those who don't heed the warning this movie sends. Is there Hollywood fluff in this movie? Why yes, there is. How else could you market a movie that didn't have the bells and whistles? There always has to be the bells and whistles so that those who keep their faces glued to their smartphones get their wiz bang entertainment factor. Heaven knows there can't be a total cerebral content movie because that wouldn't satisfy the "Peanut Gallery" (don't know what that is, well if you don't then you are part of this group and it doesn't mean you have a very high IQ).

For those who are mature enough to understand the message this movie sends, well I am more then sure you will enjoy it like I did. I thought all of the actors did a very good job but most of all Mr. Brosnan and James Frecheville. Frecheville portrayed the psychopath that can scare without any violence for the majority of the movie. Enjoy. I know I did.

Could have been a good movie. But a movie with a crime plot, cyber and law subplots shouldn't get all the details wrong. Errors included citing the wrong constitutional amendments and using the wrong law enforcement agencies. Although the acting was pretty good, the characters actions were counter-intuitive, thus creating distance between the characters and the audience. As a result, the movie quickly grew implausible and therefore tedious. They needed better technical consultants and tighter writing. Perhaps a little research before finalizing the script would have uncovered the errors. We deserve better.