Blackhat (2015)

It’s been almost seven years since we were treated to a Michael Mann film, and this was it, the Chris Hemsworth fronted Blackhat. Receiving some pretty sniffy reviews on its arrival, it got a pathetic cinematic release meaning that I actually missed it on the big screen. I was raging, and when I finally saw it having not seen it on the big screen perhaps influenced my thoughts on it. So this was my second viewing. About halfway through Blackhat, there’s a chase sequence that ends in a shootout; a scene that at once clicks the film into gear after a solid, if unspectacular first hour; but also cements the claim that no one shoots a shootout like Michael Mann. I would also argue the point that no one has perfected the art of shooting in digital as well as Mann; his decision to begin filming entirely in digital was one that was highly controversial amongst filmmakers and critics alike, although Mann’s origins in digital go back to Collateral (2004), a modern masterpiece. Blackhat benefits enormously from digital; the plot itself surrounds a ‘blackhat’ hacker who uses a code invented by Hemsworth’s Nick to attack a nuclear power plant in Hong Kong. Nick is released from jail to assist the authorities in the ensuing technological warfare, and Mann’s familiar neon sheen photography is on full show as the film globe hops from Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta. Hemsworth is terrific, a far cry from his role as Thor in the marvel universe, and he’s supported wonderfully by Tang Wei as his aid and eventual love interest. Blackhat’s box office bomb was hugely undeserved; Mann yet again proves his genius even if Blackhat is one of his slightly less brilliant offerings. 7.5/10