Pirates

First off I would just like to say that anyone who reads into this movie too much(ie try to take the validity of each and every aspect of the movie) will hate the film. Coming from a programmer and a computer enthusiast, the movie was great despite all the false statements, fake guis and totally bs methods of cracking. Quite frankly if you are one of my fellow computer geeks don't expect anything close to the real deal, it would never make a good movie for the public. I think that the true movie here is behind the whole "hacking" front. It is the development of characters the build up of a plot and an exciting climax and satisfying denouement. In closing, don't expect a command line prompt or a true UNIX client on any of the systems because it just doesn't happen in movies. Instead watch the movie because its exciting, fun and a great throwback to the early 90's.

I happen to like this movie because it is just fun to watch. If I'm bored, I can easily become unbored by watching this movie. The soundtrack is awesome and it introduced me to electronic music. I never liked it until I saw "Hackers". I love the clothes and the visuals. I knew it wasn't accurate from the minute I saw it, but then again, it's not like it was posing itself as some movie that depicted the real life of cyberpunks. It's just fun little movie. Though some of the dialogue is a bit cheesed up, it is quotable.

I especially enjoyed the performance by Matthew Lillard. It made me look forward to seeing him in "Scream" later on. He is so funny. I enjoyed Angelina Jolie, though this is hardly one of her best performances.

The only person who really didn't belong in this movie was Lorraine Bracco. She just looked strange in her role. Other than that, this movie was a good movie and it shouldn't be bashed because it depicts people, technology, and life inaccurately. What movie ever does? I'm from Iowa and do you think movies depict Iowan's lives exactly the way they are? No. But I'm not out to fertilize the lawn with "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?".

Hackers is a non-stop cheeze-fest. It's also one of my favourite films of all time. Which is not to say it's a perfect ten, it isn't. But it's a great combination of good cheeze and pure fun. Suspend all disbelief, it's not about realism. And try not to nitpick (we all know graphics would not have been possible using Unix, we all know that those archaic modems couldn't run that fast, etc. etc. etc.)

That aside, this film is really funny. It also laughs at itself on a regular basis...I mean just look at dade's wardrobe, and then remind yourself that you know half a dozen people who dressed like that in 94. I know a people who mirror just about every character in this film, which makes it even more enjoyable.

The dialogue is often over the top, and some of the acting is overdone, but tis the nature of the beast. Jonny Lee Miller (who never ceases to amaze me) pulls off the American accent quite well (though he tends to slip on occasion) and Dade is certainly no Sickboy. But that's just an example of range (he did it again in Dracula 2000...and almost saved it). Matthew Lillard, though occasionally OVERLY annoying, is perfect as Cereal Killer; his best role ever, though Scream comes close. Renoly Santiago is a funny and loud Phantom Phreak, a role only second to his role in Con Air, and his lines are always great; and Laurence Mason as the ultra-cool Lord Nikon a very close tie with Tin-Tin in The Crow for coolness (and he's done some *cool* spots...Floyd D in True Romance (not to be confused with Brad Pitt's character 'Floyd';) and Roach in an awesome ep. of Law & Order...) his character is by far the coolest of the Elite. Lorraine Bracco in a *very* early role...and speaking of *early* - Early Edition's Fishe Stevens is amusing as the arrogant swine Eugene 'The Plague' Belford. And how can one not like a film with Penn Jillette in it???

But all that aside, Angelina Jolie stole the show (as she often does). Looking like a cyber-elf straight out of ShadowRun, she's sultry and sexy in a way most actresses these days can't manage. I can't think of any films I haven't liked her in...even if I didn't like the films themselves. She's simply awesome here, she even takes bad dialogue and turns it into fun, good lines. And *her* outfits are really nice, save for that horrid dress she was stuck in at the end. And she has a Massive Attack startup on her puter!! (with a 28.8 bps modem!! ;p~~~)

Overall: sure it's unrealistic. Sure half of it's impossible. Sure it's overacted and the dialogue needs work. But the cast are all under-rated, and most of them went on to better roles, some to much fame. And the soundtracks are absolutely AMAZING!! I own them and listen regularly... This should probably rate a four or five, but I can't help but ignore all critics and pronounce myself as one of the large cult following of adorers of this film. For fun value, let alone the fact that it's entertaining as hell: 8/10.

I'm working in IT for over 10 years now, and let's be clear: Hackers is a movie, .. there's nothing real about the "hacking" going on in the movie.

There's a few scenes that are horribly done (for today's standards) but all in all I loved the movie. The acting is OK, the soundtrack is great and it changes for the everlasting "chliché" of the IT Nerd.

It's a movie that could surprise you, especially with the amount of bad movies being released nowadays. It's funny to see Johnny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie at the beginning of their careers as well.

If you're looking for light entertainment for one evening, ...

Obviously this movie is not an academy award winner. So it's going to score or not score points solely based on entertainment value.

Here's why I rate it a 7...

* The music - a great soundtrack, if you enjoy the era and genre ( Prodigy being one of the coolest bands featured) * The characters - They are all fun - especially Cereal Killer and the phone phreak guy * A pretty hot Angelina Jolie * The dialog - Some of it is pretty amusing, if you don't take the movie seriously * The overall presentation - I enjoy the signs of the time; grunge music posters, early virtual reality, etc; I enjoy the attempts at portraying what goes on inside of a computer even though it's totally wrong * I enjoy the attempt of the movie to be technical. Especially amusing is the discussion of Kate's laptop..."It has a killer refresh rate", lol; You kind of have to laugh at such things; They get some things right though. Like calling the compiler design book the Dragon book...it was named that when I was in college

Obviously weak is the portrayal of computers and hacking. As a computer professional, I can still live with it. Movies rarely get any of this stuff right, so you just put up with these things.

The plot is quite weak. But what do you expect? It suffices as a vehicle for the situations, dialog and music.