Hackers (1995)
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A group of high school hackers becomes entangled in a high-stakes conspiracy involving a dangerous computer virus.
The story
In 1988, Dade "Zero Cool" Murphy is a talented hacker whose activities led to a legal ban on his technology use. On his 18th birthday in New York City, his ban is lifted, and he joins a group of fellow hackers. The group's dynamic is tested when a novice member, Joey, accidentally triggers a security response from a mysterious figure known as "The Plague." The hackers soon find themselves caught in a web of deception involving a powerful computer virus and a massive corporate fraud, forcing them to navigate a dangerous game of digital cat-and-mouse to clear their names.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1988, Dade "Zero Cool" Murphy is a hacker whose actions caused a crash in the New York Stock Exchange, leading to a ban on his electronics. On his 18th birthday in New York City, his ban is lifted. He joins a group of hackers, including Kate "Acid Burn" Libby. The group's novice member, Joey, breaks into a supercomputer owned by the Ellingson Mineral Corporation. This alerts Eugene "The Plague" Belford, a former hacker who has planted a worm to defraud the company. Plague frames the teenagers for his actions and involves the U.S. Secret Service. A tense hacking duel ensues between Dade and Kate against a Secret Service agent. Meanwhile, Dade is pressured by Plague to deliver a disk containing the worm's code. The group eventually discovers that the 'Da Vinci' virus is a distraction for the worm's theft of $25 million. In a final confrontation, the hackers use a pirate broadcast to reveal Plague's complicity, leading to his arrest and the clearing of their names. The film ends with Dade and Kate beginning a relationship.
- First release year
- 1995
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Iain Softley
- Writers
- Rafael Moreu · writer
- Cast and characters
- Jonny Lee Miller · Dade "Zero Cool" Murphy; Angelina Jolie · Kate "Acid Burn" Libby; Fisher Stevens · Eugene "The Plague" Belford; Lorraine Bracco · not specified; Jesse Bradford · not specified; Matthew Lillard · not specified; Laurence Mason · not specified; Renoly Santiago · not specified
- Genres
- crime thriller; teen
- Themes
- cyberpunk; counterculture; technology vs. authority
- Tone and mood
- stylish; fast-paced; dreamlike
- Premise and plot tags
- hacking; cyber-crime; teenagers
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and underperformed at the box office upon release, but has gone on to achieve cult classic status.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 34% · scale: percentage · review count: 47; Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 14; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A to F
- Production trivia
- The film's music was released in three separate volumes over three years.; The script was inspired by the hacker and cyberpunk subcultures.; The character of the villain uses 'Babbage' as a pseudonym, referencing Charles Babbage.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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