A quite entertaining and informative special covering the making of Phil Alden Robinson's comedy-thriller "Sneakers", one of the earliest films
to deal with hackers and the dangers of technology and computers. Features interviews with the stellar cast and done at the time of filming (that's why
you the late River Phoenix present and some of the actors are shown wearing the characters clothing), and the dream team of writing-producing partners
Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and director Robinson ("Field of Dreams" fame).
The trio gathering are responsible for the most interesting bits of this doc as they dwell a lot about the story concept and how it evolve during a whole
decade (dating back when two of them were involved with the brilliant "WarGames") with many changes, script revisions until they finally get a studio to
produce it. They're all very humored and share several funny stories about their meetings and their encounters with mathematicians and other technical
advisors - which includes Captain Crunch, a convicted phone hacker who also appears in the special. But you probably know the drill of how those materials
go with plenty of clips from the movie and actors talking about their characters.
It's not much of an insightful look back at the film's legacy (and there is one in some circles) or an evaluation on how the film got right or wrong
about computers, internet, technological systems and the way good things and bad things are at everyone's disposal, or how connected the world would become
and also very dependant on such technology. But Mr. Parkes does share a somewhat view about it. It's not that "Sneakers" was entirely prophetic about the
world's future, it's simply extending a portion of an existing reality and imagining certain dangerous scenarios that were predictable, and now are
part of our reality about the power and control of information being the most valuable asset to win ideological wars. Yet a very watchable documentary on a
great and fun film. 8/10.
