The Net 2.0

accidentally, I watched this movie, it was shown at night in German TV, and I'm pretty sure, you simply watched the movie under wrong circumstances ... it seems to be the sequel of "the Net", but after watching it, I'm very sure, it wasn't planned to be ... look at the acting, the directing, the camera, the casting itself, look at it a bit more closely, and you will come to one conclusion: this was the pilot of a planned TV series, not a real sequel ... the whole plot / script shows it quite clear, they try to introduce the main character within the first minutes, including a plot - which always is a bit hard for the first episode, mostly doesn't work out very well, however, there are often problems, especially in structure, within the first episode of a new series ... seemingly planned to somewhat fill the hole "Alias" left ...

I'm pretty sure, the producers followed the opinion of an test audience and simply said "no", so, the pilot, planned as 2 x 45 minute episodes, was re-edited to something like a "movie", and then sold worldwide for a good price, eg to Germany through something like a joint-venture-package, quite often taking place within other products, lets say a prime time series, plus some "I was a pilot" - movies - this time one which tried to be something like "Alias" - a series which was shown at the same TV station here in old Germany, which now showed "Net 2.0" ... I don't think this is a coincidence, it's something like a giveaway, not a bad thing, but for me its simply quite obvious, its a pilot, not really good, able covering quite much with fast cuts / re-editing (but who doesn't), so nowadays quite normal, just rejected ...

OK this film (tape?) has a fair few flaws, but not really that many, at least compared with The Net 1. As it mentions in the end credits, the movie was shot entirely on HD Video, something we're going to see a lot more of, and this must have a very significant impact on production costs.

Nevertheless, I can forgive it most of its faults except one. The laughably unrealistic portrayal of computer screens. Why do all Hollywood directors think that computer screens need to have two-inch-high fonts and animated doohickeys all over the place? This sort of movie is inevitably going to be watched by dweebs all over the planet who simply will not put up with this sort of thing.

Takedown, I think, was the only film I've ever seen which had believable computer screens. Given the subject matter, just as well. So why not this one? There is simply no excuse. There are just too many computer-literate ppl out there now, and they all switch off as soon as they spot rubbish like that. It ruins the whole experience. Truly. If not for that, I would have given it an 8 or 9.

Drink a shot each time the voiceover says "hope," and you'll be wasted before the opening scene is over. The main character, Hope, is supposed to be tech-savvy, but one of the first scenes depicts her using a public wi-fi. Pretty soon we realize she (Hope) is an immature, impulsive, arrogant and dim-witted person, and it's a miracle she managed to live this long, so flashing her bank account in front of strangers seemed to be on-brand for her.

She (remember her name? It's Hope) moves to another country, but it turns out her passport is about to expire, so she can't secure a work visa. Surely it happens all the time with adult people traveling for work. The consulate gives her a temporary ID with the wrong name, but instead of returning it to wait for a proper document, she just takes it because why not. Definitely a mature thing to do. Shortly after, chaos ensues, and Hope finds herself robbed of identity by Keegan Connor Tracy (presumably kidnapped from Canada to Turkey and forced to do something even worse than Uwe Boll or Lifetime) and chased by the police. Trying to prove she hadn't committed any crimes, she commits a variety of crimes. While all of this happens, some of the worst "moaning in the desert" middle-easternish score you've ever heard is playing.

At some point there's a 04:20 countdown seen on the screen, which might be a subtle reference to the fact that whoever wrote the script was stoned the entire time, so you shouldn't be surprised that there's, for example, a scene where Hope basically asks a "supercomputer" to hack itself, which it does because why not.

The conclusion is simple, watch this promo film for Turkey with a slight story, and all clichés will pass one by one.

The chases are not state of the art. A small car chase with no surprises, some running, some more running.

The flash backs and flash forwards started to annoy me, just as the characters and their roles which weren't a surprise at the end.

Sandra Bullock's trailer was on the DVD as well, and I have to say: watch the Net trailer for even more action and entertainment.

Not too bad for a B-movie, don't expect anything new or refreshing. IT people like myself will of course see through the technical terms, but who'll watch for that purpose ;)

After watching this, Sony pictures should look itself in the mirror, and ask themselves if any sensible person would check his personal savings from a business class seat in a airplane, and then toss the tablet screen away, with no password security active, just because a stewardess wants to make a chit chat? This movie not only stinks in its story line, any sensible diet coke drinking U.S. patriot knows that these kind of actions are asking for trouble.

Why don't they make The Net 3-1/2, add Linux and MacOS into the game, and create some good laughs? Come on! After how they guillotined any credits of whats left of this genre, why don't create some parody. I give The Net 2.0 4 out of 10, because the actors did a good job, and made the movie endurable.