Les experts

I was drawn to Sneakers because I heard the story was of my favorite genre, a spy thriller. However, I found this movie to be more along the lines of a caper film.

Robert Redford is the leader of a team of experts who break into security systems so that institutions (such as banks) can see how good their system is. The team is made up of a diverse group: an ex-Cia agent (Portier) and three computer whizzes (Ackroyd, Phoenix, and the blind Stratharn). The group has great chemistry and often this leads to some fun humor.

Redford and his team are hired by the government (so they believe) to retrieve a black box that can decode encrypted computer firewalls. After retrieving the black box, the team finds themselves in dire trouble.

I was hoping the film would be more intense, yet Sneakers incorporates a lot of humor. It is a fun film and is enjoyable to watch, but if you are looking for a true spy film, then you may want to pass.

This film more closely resembles recent movies like Ocean's 11 or The Italian Job, popcorn films that have some laughs, some danger, and some suspense.

Redford is really great in this movie as is Straitarn; Mary McDonnell is also very good. Phoenix holds his own. Although far from their best roles, Poitier, James Earl Jones, Ackroyd, and Ben Kingsley are decent.

Overall an enjoyable film which incorporates computer hacking before it was mainstream. Rating 7 of 10 stars.

Sneakers is, and has been, one of my favorite movies for years. I saw it on Showtime, and I had to buy it on VHS. Soon after the release of DVD, I bought the DVD version and I watch it ALL the time. This movie is awesome in all aspects. I love the cast, and I love the music. I have the soundtrack on CD, and Branford Marsalis on sax adds so much to the movie and its entire mood. As for the story...funny, exciting, thought- provoking. I made a comment about the visuals, I think they were exciting as well. The camera shots and all, hard to explain, but I love it. I especially love the shots at the start of the movie in the snow, that scene as a whole, camera angles, music, lighting---awesome. What I don't get about the movie is this---how come Redford has to ask his off and on "girlfriend" what encryption is? I thought he was a hacker!? There are a few other times in the movie where he and his "crew" ask questions about computer subjects it seems they should know everything about. I never understood that. Well, that's that....I think the movie is a must see.

I was saddened that this movie had such a low rating. I've watched it many, many times over the years, and it continues to entertain. It is, perhaps, the last good "hacker" film (well, 23 (1998) also comes to mind, but that isn't widely available in English).

The math is believable (Janek's lecture makes sense), as is the technology (except for the Hollywood-ish decryption displays -- but that's forgivable). The characters are among the most realistic in any of these movies (with the exception of Joey the lamer in Hackers (1995) -- most accurate character in a hacking movie I've seen yet). They're each composites of well-known people from the 80s security scene. The techniques they use are the techniques of the business, especially in that era.

Now that computers have become such a big thing, I don't think it would be possible for Hollywood to produce another movie like this. Anything made now would have to be far more glamorous and unrealistic.

What's this movie got, if you don't care about any of that stuff? It's tremendously funny, cleverly written (every scene works overtime to say and do more than one thing), and beautifully shot and scored. (The opening scene and transition is wonderful) The acting is priceless. I've never met someone who didn't love this film. See it.

Given that this came out in 1992, the level of technology in it is amazing. I watched this twice, the latest in 1999, and still am amazed at some of the things they can do with computers. Of course, some hacking techniques are commonplace and outdated now, but it is still engrossing to see these acts in action.

Watching it a second time gives you a sense of perspective though. Back then, to think that a chip that can control the world was preposterous, but now, with almost everything microchip-controlled, and the ubiquity of the Internet, that thought is not too farfetched.

Talking in movie terms, this ranks as one of the better ones that center around computers. There is some solid acting, and though there are sub-plots within the main plot, they do not grow so much so as to overwhelm the main storyline, which is basically a group of men hired to find the chip-that-controls-everything.

Sneakers is still fun to watch after 12 years and it was a great look at the time in which it was made. 12 years ago, the Cold War just ended and nobody was really sure how things were going to shape up geopolitically. Sneakers captured that mood perfectly and kept things tense with the soundtrack, locations and set work.

It's got the best balance of technical accuracy verses ease of viewing that I've ever seen on film. Not too many cartoon-like computer interfaces but no staring for minutes at a time at command line interfaces. Sneakers also gets points for being in the Bay Area and traveling among places that I visit every day (Hills Brother Coffee Building for the 'box drop' and the Dumbarton Bridge - for starters). Actors have fun with their roles although it's obvious that Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Ben Kingsley and James Earl Jones are not delivering their A-Game. It doesn't matter, it doesn't make it any less fun to watch. I like Phil Alden Robinson's camera movements; don't forget to look for the long, low slide across the Scrabble pieces right in a pivotal moment of the plot.

The movie still retains some relevance today. Ben Kingsley offers that gem " world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!" gains some credibility especially in the face of the post-9/11 news reporting on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News. Trash-diving is still a viable option to gain information on your opponent and social engineering will always work to help you gain some information.

Sneakers is still one of the best mainstream treatments on the subject of hacking. Watch, learn, enjoy.