Hacker

Most Canadians speak with a distinctively American Accent, as opposed to British. Some Provinces do compare with a few Norther States of the US, but it is still a decidedly common way of speaking. Additionally, 'College' is common colloquial American for any study beyond High School, including University. The US has a diversity of dialects, North to South and East to West.

Summary: the goofs based on not sounding Canadian are in themselves goofs.

I saw this movie a few years ago. It was one of my favourites, before I became a software engineer. It's a great story and chain of events that leads to the center piece. A nice journey indeed, but this has nothing to do with hacking. I am giving it a 7 because of nostalgia. The real rating is more like a 5.9

After looking for the movie Algorithm, i found another movie called Algorithm 2. i was surprised that there was a second part and set my expectations high. Later i discovered that it wasn't the second part of Algorithm but a separate movie called Hacker.

Although the big message is the same as in Algorithm, Hacker lacks on minor messages. And it lacks hacking. i think the producer has made the main point clear to me: don't mess with professionals unless u r one. u never know when and where u make a mistake and then they r after u. Playing professionals need years of experiences. If u want to run a marathon and compete with Kenyans and u r not trained then maybe u run the first kilometer and r wasted. Trying to play tennis against a pro as an amateur means not winning a single game — the odds r not with an amateur.

There is another message which is similar to the one of Algorithm but stated differently: If u want to change the world then steal enough currency and create a chaos with it because the one who owns the currency makes the rules. Although the real gangsters behind the currency system can't create new currency anymore they still have power because about ninety percent of world's population accept them as gods. They r dying out slowly and we can wait. Or we can act. But if we act then we can't use their tools because they r better on them. we have to use our own tools.

In the movie, one more point was made clear: weak men can be easily defeated by strong women. Once u start hacking something or someone, be very careful! u r being watched whether u know it or not or whether they know your intention or not. There r cameras everywhere. Every ATM has a camera and the characters in the movie didn't even cover their faces! And they were not discovered. Wasn't at least this suspicious?

The main character alex wants to use a tool that carries negative energy within — payback. Payback is continuation of violence in a violence vortex. If u want to stop violence then u don't pay back but stop it. One is only allowed to use violence while protecting themselves. In the movie, it wasn't about defense.

i don't want to spoil the ending so u can find it out on your own whether it will be left open or finite, whether they all die or not, whether they return to canonical world or go on with creating a better world.

Overall this movie is enjoyable. It is exciting and doesn't assume as much understanding of computer science than Algorithm. The story is linear and easy to follow. Characters r played well. Would i recommend it? As entertainment — yes, as a computer movie — no.

While the acting and dialogue was solid, this rather cliché and moralistic tale may leave some people with a sour taste in their mouth.

It may leave an even worse after-taste when the (totally private) "Federal Reserve" banking system, becomes its own bubble and then bursts, which is something that appears to have been building in the wake of the mortgage-bubble lead financial meltdown. If indeed these predictions are correct, and a worldwide economic collapse of far greater magnitude ensues, the US citizens will probably be told that it was all due to "Russia", "China", and "Hackers operating out of Russia and China...who may be on their respective government's payroll".

I listen to people who actually know what they're talking about and not talking heads with vested interests, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to smell the faint aroma of economic propaganda (or a "contingency story" for mass consumption), which may become stronger in the years to come if these economic predictions are correct.

Just some food for thought.

However, I digress. On with the review!

Why should I give this film a better-than-average rating when the plot was weak and the main protagonist knew less about protecting their online anonymity than I do? Well, to answer that question I should say that "social engineering" is also considered a valid form of hacking. People are always the weakest point in any system, hence they are the easiest way to bypass security without having to force your way through from behind a computer.

Even with the most sophisticated of proxies and other counter-measures, there is no way to ensure something won't be traced back to you online, just as there is no assurances of remaining unrecognized IRL on a camera, even with a disguise; The latter just happens to be far more efficient, and can often be achieved by using real-life proxies to do your data-collection.

The more real life proxies that are distributing the original data in a non-pyramid/linear, distributed fashion, the less chance of one person being caught as the "ring leader", which is the exact same principle one uses when using an online proxy network. The fact they did funnel information from proxies in bottom up fashion was certainly a major security flaw that would have easily have had them nabbed for credit card fraud under normal circumstances.

If you're into the guts of how people hack from behind a keyboard, then this movie is not for you...but if you want to see a totally different type of hacking at work (predominantly social engineering), you may get something out of this film in spite of its pitfalls.

For any real hackers (aspiring hackers, hacktivists, otherwise criminally engaged computer wizards, or simply people in general who know their stuff) it's probably best not to touch this movie... but to people who hardly know anything about the world of hacking, who can enjoy a lower tier "morally justified" heist movie, it might work pretty well.

That said, the plot is dull. Really dull. Perhaps not so much the plot itself, but rather the execution of it. It's pretty obvious (from the narration, the cast) that this movie was meant to piggyback on the hype-train of Mr. Robot. Whereas Mr. Robot actually goes into detail pretty accurately, there's hardly ANY hacking going on in this movie at all. It's just a bunch of scammer kids, with a very infantile approach to the hacking phenomenon. A mash-up of jargon, combined with really poor dialogues and acting skills in general. A "hacker" that isn't familiar with the Dark Web or Onion? I mean, really?

Apart from that, it has a nice pace with just enough going on, to maintain a certain entertainment value that made me watch it through to the end. I'm glad that I did, 'cause it has a nice twist at the end... albeit pretty far fetched.