Blackhat

For my 100th post on this site, I figured I'd review a prestigious and memorable film. Unfortunately, I watched Blackhat and will be reviewing that instead.

After a hacker attacks a nuclear power plant in Hong Kong, shutting down the coolant system and causing an explosion, the FBI and Chinese government work together to try and figure out who caused the attack, why and where the next attack will be. Captain Dawai (Leehom Wang) and his computer-savvy sister, Chen Lien (Tang Wei) work in conjunction with FBI Agents Jessup (Holt McCallany) and Barrett (Viola Davis). Dawai realizes that the code used was co-written by former hacker turned prisoner Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth).

Like most films that need a criminal, Hathaway is released into custody of the FBI in an attempt to thwart the hacker. After a second attack that causes soy futures to rise, Hathaway and Chen begin to have romantic feelings for one another, against the wishes of Dawai. Globe-trotting from the United States, to Hong Kong and Jakarta, the Chinese and Americans try to play catch-up and also figure out what is going on.

Director Michael Mann continues his post-2004 slump with a movie that will surely be forgotten by, well... it probably is already forgotten. Dating back to Miami Vice, the director has struggled to provide the audience with a film that is engaging and full of rich characters. With the exception of making Hong Kong an amazing place to look at, it feels that Michael Mann has lost his edge about making the type of film he used to be able to do in his sleep.

Chris Hemsworth is horribly miscast, using all the charisma that he puts into every role and discarding it in favor of being bland and boring. The relationship that (quickly) forms between Hathaway and Chen does not feel natural, and comes across as more of a reason to shoehorn and love story into what should have otherwise been a straight-forward thriller. Neither actor has any chemistry with one another and the romantic subplot drags down the film.

Not to say that the rest of the film is great by any means. Watching the characters stare at computer screens, along with the audience staring at computer screens, we are told what is going on instead of going along for the journey. Watching someone type away or looking at movie-version of computer code is not what I would call an entertaining time.

Even though Michael Mann still has a keep eye for shooting a city and continuing the look of neo-noir, his issues are now coming up with a good script to go along with his eyes. Blackhat is not a total failure, but it certainly isn't a return to form either.

4.0/10

Gone Girl

As much as I love David Fincher, in some ways, Gone Girl seems to be a parody of everything that has made him a great director.

Coming home on their wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) finds the house in shambles and his wife Amy Elliott-Dunne (Rosamund Pike) missing. Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) is assigned to the case and begins to suspect Nick of Amy's disappearance and possible murder.

Through a series of flashbacks, we see how Nick and Amy's relationship went from a blossoming romance to a hate-filled marriage. Amy was the author of a series of popular children's books based off a character named "Amazing Amy". Due to the popularity of the character and book series, the missing person's case brings a lot of media coverage down onto Nick. With the media and police bearing down on Nick, every move he makes becomes scrutinized. Nick eventually teams up with lawyer Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry) in an attempt to clear his name and help try to find out what happened to his wife.

The plot about Gone Girl has to remain simple and to the point as there is a lot more going on under the surface and might ruin the film to those who have yet to see it. The layers of complexity are intriguing, but about halfway through the film, the story's focus shifts away from Nick and the film began to lose my interest. This detour is not bad, and I completely understand why, but it is much less interesting than the main focus of the story.

Once this narrative shift begins, the film itself feels more choppy and disjointed. Parts of the second half are very entertaining while others left me checking my watch. I have not read the book, so I went in to this film with a clean slate. I'm not sure if that was better or worse, but the film itself is solid, if unspectacular. The disappointment with the film, I feel, is that David Fincher is much better than the material he is using. Since "The Social Network", it feels almost as if he is on auto pilot and using all the tropes that worked for him in the past and is not pushing himself as he had prior with this film and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

Gone Girl is a solid film, but in the David Fincher catalog, it is sorely lacking.

7.5/10