Blackhat (2015)
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A convicted hacker is offered a chance at freedom in exchange for helping authorities track down a dangerous cybercriminal.
The story
When a nuclear plant in Hong Kong suffers a meltdown caused by a hacker and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is targeted, the Chinese government and FBI launch a joint investigation. Captain Chen Dawai of the People's Liberation Army enlists the help of his sister, a networking engineer, to find the culprit. They seek out Nicholas Hathaway, a convicted hacker who wrote the remote access tool used in the attacks. Hathaway agrees to assist the authorities on the condition that his prison sentence is commuted if he successfully identifies and captures the hacker.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After a hacker causes a nuclear meltdown in Hong Kong and manipulates soy futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chinese government and FBI team up. Captain Chen Dawai enlists his sister Lien and the imprisoned hacker Nicholas Hathaway to find the culprit. Hathaway, under the supervision of Deputy U.S. Marshal Mark Jessup, tracks the hacker's movements across the globe. The team travels to Hong Kong, where they raid a paramilitary operative's hideout, resulting in a violent shootout. Hathaway eventually hacks into the NSA to repair corrupted data, leading them to a server in Jakarta. During the investigation, Hathaway and Lien become romantically involved. After a series of betrayals and deaths—including the deaths of Dawai and several officers—Hathaway deduces the hacker's ultimate plan to sabotage a dam and tin mines in Malaysia. He travels to Jakarta, where he manages to transfer the hacker's funds to his own Swiss account. In a final confrontation in a park during a religious procession, Hathaway faces off against the hacker, Sadak, and his henchmen. Despite being shot several times, Hathaway kills both Sadak and the paramilitary leader Elias Kassar before reuniting with Lien.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 134
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Michael Mann
- Writers
- Morgan Davis Foehl · writer
- Cast and characters
- Chris Hemsworth · Nicholas Hathaway; Tang Wei · Lien; Viola Davis · Carol Barrett; Ritchie Coster · Mark Jessup; Holt McCallany · Chen Dawai; Yorick van Wageningen · Alex Trang; Wang Leehom · Sadak
- Genres
- action; thriller; crime
- Themes
- mass surveillance; relationship between power and network technology
- Tone and mood
- unhinged; sophisticated
- Premise and plot tags
- cyber-thriller; techno-thriller; hacking; terrorism
- Reception
- The film received generally mixed reviews, with criticisms focused on casting and pace, though it appeared on some critics' year-end lists. It was a box-office bomb, earning significantly less than its budget.
- Production trivia
- The film was tentatively titled Cyber.; Michael Mann was inspired by the events surrounding Stuxnet.; The film was the first feature by Michael Mann to be shot entirely using digital cameras.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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