Blackhat 4K Ultra HD

The first time I saw this excellent film was a modified for television run and I LOVED it. Granted there were some scenes that didn't flow real well and I figured that there were cut scenes or something from the theatrical cut? I still loved this movie anyway. Later on, a few weeks passed and I couldn't stop thinking about this film and if you are a Mr. Mann fan, he has a way of making you think about his movies days/weeks and sometimes months afterward... For me Michael Mann makes films SO expertly-directed, that I will think about his movies for years after the fact. If you are unfamiliar with the name 'Michael Mann' it is very likely that you watched and loved 'Last of the Mohicans' or have heard of Tom Cruise's and Jamie Foxx's 'Collateral' or even the 'Miami Vice' remake also starring Mr. Foxx too. Ironically, when I saw this film the first time on the tv, it reminded me of a Michael Mann film, I am sure that you can surmise my delight, when the ending credits showed the director's name... After renting this film again just a few weeks after seeing on tv - this version was infinitely better as this version has scenes that completely sense of what is happening in the story. For me the movie was only better. The acting was great, the drama about two friends being reunited with one of them, falling in love with his friend's sister made it more interesting.. If you have not seen this movie yet I don't want to give anything away, suffice it to say that I wish I could see it again for the very first time. I would highly recommend this techno-action drama for every reason that you may enjoy a movie!

Good movie, I loved it, came fast.

The critics were unfairly harsh on this film, I think, for a lot of the usual reasons, the main thing being that Blackhat is not your generic Hollywood thriller trying to imitate Bourne Identity or whatever but is actually more of an auteur work, similar to what Michael Mann did with Miami Vice. As I said, this is a Mann film and his style and approach to film making is all over this thing. The movie could have easily been much better, but for what it is, I was entertained by it. In keeping with the kind of ponderous, meditative and weird approach Mann often has to his movies, Blackhat is not really some breathlessly paced crime thriller with tons of action sequences, but more of an oddly paced procedural with lots of that very atypical Michael Mann stop-and-go framing. Similar to some of his previous films, the movie simply drops you into a situation with very little backstory or characterization (something that got a lot of negative reviews when he did the same thing in Miami Vice). The movie just starts.....GO!...and you're off and running with this story about a bunch of people trying to catch a cyber-terrorist. The storyline is fairly weak, and by far it's weakest element is the inexplicable romance between Hemsworth and Tang Wei which has no source in anything and involves two people with absolutely nothing in common, yet becomes the lynchpin of the entire film. This is where I think Mann made a mistake. In Miami Vice, the romance element was cleverly balanced with the obvious factor that the relationship was doomed from the start and had no future. Here, though, it comes this central element for literally no reason other than "we must have a romance in our movie because reasons." As someone who knows a little about computers and the old-school method of hacking and all that sort of thing, I thought the film admirably relied on being very accurate with its portrayal of the technology...which is great if you know what the hell all the people are typing on the screen and talking about. If you don't...well...there's no explanation whatsoever. Having said that, though, the film's uber cyber terrorist laughably somehow manages to avoid being traced while committing major crimes, but a simple "whois" command will reveal a proxy IP to a server he is using to view a remote camera? Putting all that aside, the film does feature some nice, very distinct Michael Mann-ish moments, from the gorgeous photography and handheld camera work, to a few fantastic sequences that are clearly his signature work. Ultimately, the problem is that, like some of Mann's previous films, this movie is more of a kind of meditative thing where the style IS the substance. As a result, it has a lot of shortcomings. I wouldn't say it's his worst movie, that honor goes to Public Enemies,. but it definitely is not on the level of Heat or Collateral or Miami Vice. But, if like me, you're already a huge fan of that distinct style and craft that goes into Mann's movies, I can't see this film letting you down much. It's easily worth a rental.

Entertaining movie. Great addition to the collection.

It was a Ok movie the plot of the hero/antihero winning is essentially the theme. The issues that bring less depth to the whole thing at least my opinion is that a lot of holes were left. Firearm action was pretty well done. More of Hemsworth in prison would have been better for the plot and movie in general. The Mace him and he doesn't even flinch so you can tell he got hit with inert spray. You can also tell that when he goes into the Nuclear plant that everyone there is clearly a idiot. The lady speaking another language about dose rate and time was deplorable with a brush that bit of safety information aside with (she said Hurry). Then the fast decontamination after the retrieval of the hard drive (Right) oh and they just waltz right in and walk up the stairs after the lady said hurry. Plus a dude dies in front of them.So as far as unexplained things the untraceable IP address is one that many HACKER type movies try to get the public to believe and the Black Widow special government vault of all data ever is another stretch. These require a lot of belief in a special government supercomputer. The tampering of the PLC's was obvious from the moment they had to explain what they were but not really.It was a good movie for the entertainment value. It wasn't entertaining enough to own or show to my family again and again though....

Love this movie