Michael Mann’s thriller takes us on an intimate journey into the mind of a master hacker
Mere months after Sony Pictures had to subdue its scandalous spray of movie leaks and controversies, a film about hacking is released. Blackhat tells of notorious hacker Nick Hathaway, who is enlisted to help the FBI take down a cybercrime network.
We wonder if this cybercrime network is operating in a certain walled Asian country. After all, North Korea was suspected to be the mastermind behind the Sony scandal.
East Meets West
Blackhat stars Thor’s Chris Hemsworth as cyber-genius Hathaway, and Taiwan-based popstar Wang Leehom as Chinese agent Chen Dawai. Hathaway and Chen must work together to bring down the virtual syndicate in order to be released from prison.
Before you start pondering if Thor, an ancient god, knows how to use a mouse (let alone infiltrate an entire cyber database), you should know that Hemsworth worked extra hard for this role, attending months of computer lessons to prepare for the part.
Director Michael Mann explained that his team also conducted intensive research with “former members of the CIA and FBI”, so that they could authentically portray how “hackers speak, carry themselves and type”.
We’re looking forward to see how the Hemsworth-Wang duo will pull off this espionage under such heavy scrutiny from Mann!
Echoes of a Global Scandal
In the short featurette below, Mann pointed out several details in Blackhat that chillingly reflect the recent Sony database hack, like how vulnerable our personal information is once exposed online. Check it out:
In November last year, Sony Pictures’ private database – which contained its employees’ private data, copies of unreleased movies, and more confidential documents – was penetrated by anonymous hackers.
The cyber-criminals demanded the cancellation of controversial North Korean parody movie The Interview. The hacked information, including private details on Sony employees’ families, was released for public access.
Blackhat is extremely fitting as a comfort film for Sony and America’s intelligence agencies, which were not able to prevent the hack or identify the culprits.
We imagine the agents watching capable alpha males Hemsworth and Wang tinkering adroitly with software and codes, weeping over a tub of ice cream and wishing they were able to stop the hackers in their tracks.
For the rest of us, we’ll just have to be extra-careful about what information we post on the Internet. So you think revealing your birthday and your mother’s maiden name online is safe? Think again.
By Pamela Chow
Watch the trailer for Blackhat here:
Blackhat [TBA]
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Wang Leehom, Viola Davis
Genre: Thriller
Run Length: 120 mins
Release: 15 Jan
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