Michael Mann’s latest film Blackhat has something to do with computer hackers and bank accounts being drained of millions of dollars, but who hasn’t seen that before? Chris Hemsworth stars as Nick Hathaway, a mumbling prisoner who has been released to help the FBI find this criminal whose goal is to hurt the International Banking Network. Nick is your conventional action hero: attractive, soft spoken, and ultra masculine. There is very little to his character which makes us question his motivations, his relationships, and especially his sudden and moving-a-little-too-fast romance with his partner in (solving) crime, Lien. (Like seriously, they fall in love so fast you’d think this was a Disney film).

The film is a lot of jargon, and for a premise as simple as it has, it doesn’t have the right to be so confusing. You’ll find yourself watching with a stumped feeling for most of the time, and with lack of characterization and a greater lack of sense, it’s hard to invest yourself in Blackhat. Highlights of the film include Viola Davis who is just simply great in everything, a few badass action scenes that might wake you out of your sleep for two minutes, and…yeah that’s about it. Not even the “Sexiest Man Alive” Chris Hemsworth can keep you glued to the screen. The film also has some strange audio problems, as it appears to mostly have been dubbed, and other glitches here and there. Is this seriously the final cut? It’s also over two hours long which is rather gratuitous for what the story needs. It’s overlong with eye-roll inducing dialogue and performances that are forgettable. I nearly forgot about the film as I wrote this review.

Fans of Michael Mann may be disappointed with this latest effort, as the iconic director has done so much better in the past. Blackhat wants to be this relevant, cybercrime story but it could not be more bland. It might have been preferable if Chris Hemsworth sported a black hat, because hey that would be funny!

[star v=1]