When Hackers came out back in ‘95, Angelina Jolie was still known as Jon Voight’s daughter, Matthew Lillard had not begun SLC Punk (or the unfortunate row of Freddie Prinze Jr. films that came after), and Jonny Lee Miller was still a year away from Trainspotting. Wait, did this film really come out two decades ago? As a child, I was certain that I was going to become a hacker after watching this movie. Don’t worry though, I did re-watch the movie to write this review and bought a programming book. But I’m never going to be a hacker. One thing I can do is emulate the film’s fashion, which is incredible. Amazing prints, Akira motorcycle gear, cloak hoodies, thigh belts, accessories galore, and of course rollerblades. The fashion was on another level. Kate played by Angelina Jolie could step off the screen today and perfectly blend in NYC. Everyone wears perfect outfits. They might have not gotten the computer thing to work, but they sure did have a crystal ball that saw the future of fashion.
You may be wondering what happened to rollerblades. Well, I do not know. Every character in the movie has one except the villain, named the Plague, who happens to skateboard instead. But somebody had to have put a fatwa on rollerblading because that trend is long gone. To be honest, I used to rollerblade back in the day, and I don’t even know why I stopped. My guess is someone asked a kid why he was skating and to save their masculinity, he opted for not rolling around in bashed up wheels.
Let’s return to the film. Like most films, this one also centers around a rebellious teen. What this movie manages to achieve capturing the teenage experience is free from the failings of the other films in the genre. You will never catch yourself rolling your eyes at the (horrible) dialogue, everything from the actions of the characters to their relationships and social interactions is totally believable. The actors’ and characters’ interaction with each other whether as friends or lovers is not too over the top and almost feels real.
Lord Nikon, Emmanuel Goldstein aka Cereal Killer. I can’t fathom how many of those handles went on to be immortalized as AOL Screen names, but I’m sure there were more than a few. The film’s MacGuffin is a virus launched by our villain the hacker gone corporate, known as the Plague onto the Ellingson Mineral Company, which promises to capsize their oil tankers onto the sea if a ransom is not met. It makes me wonder, what does it actually mean to be a “corporate” hacker? In its essence, the movie examines the life of a group of brilliant, uniquely captivating teenagers residing in New York’s underground hacking/music/fashion scene. Although, I’ve never witnessed such a multi-faceted collection of individuals manage to survive past their freshman year at Stuyvesant High School.
Joey is the noob. He is the weird one who does not have a handle like the others, he lives in Battery Park. He smokes cigarettes two at a time, and his mother dresses him. His quest for respect leads his friends into trouble with the FBI. Phreak is a kid from Venezuela who lives in Soho. Unlike Joey, he dresses himself, and he makes me think of a Venezuelan friend I had in high school who wore the same clothes, had the same hair, was of the same height, lived in Soho… it is creepy.
In my opinion, the most charming and funny relationship in the film has got to be between the Cereal Killer and Lord Nikon, both of whom are loners but seem to live in their fantasy worlds. While we are never told anything about Lord Nikon’s parents, we do hear something about Cereal Killer’s when Dade asks him, ‘Why do you always need to crash somewhere?” The answer: “His parents missed Woodstock and he’s been making up for it ever since.” Sheesh! Either way, their chemistry is undeniable. Their eyes sparkle with delight when they see each other. Who doesn’t want to be friends with Lord Nikon and Cereal Killer? These two are in-sync.
Lord Nikon with his “It’s a curse” photographic memory. Cereal Killer with his “Oh look at that pooper man, spandex is a privilege, not a right” mild Tourette’s. Throughout the film, these two best friends are shown being each other’s cheerleaders. Nikon lets him sleep over, Cereal buys him a drink at Kate’s party, and Nikon sweetly encourages him during the climax of the film by holding his shoulders and saying “Cereal, you can do it. We are counting on you! You can do it!” That is a friendship that all of us wished for.
Dade and Kate’s relationship is a complex one. It never reaches that amalgamated zone of teenage romance as seen in films. Rather, it is one that is believable. Kate is a girl who is way too advanced for her age. She lives in Tribeca (possibly), her mother is an accomplished feminist author, and her room is decorated with Keith Herring prints. From the start of Hackers, the two begin messing with each other. Dade tells Kate about the pool on the roof, she sets off the sprinkler system, Dade enrolls himself in one of Kate’s classes, they “Hack-off,” and when Dade actually asks her out, Kate calmly states, “I don’t do dates.” She is the epitome of cool.
The film moves at a breakneck speed so you never get bored. It includes cut scenes that capture 90’s video art, but it also includes glimpses into how computers function and the absurdities of the inner workings of machines. All of that is set on a soundtrack that makes you wonder how life could have been different had you been in a position to hear it during the 90’s. The music Orbital, Prodigy and Urban Dance Squad set is wonderful, and so too is the attire and attitude of the Prodigy, and the Urban Dance Squad. In most movies aimed at teenagers, the resolution tends to involve some trivial moral that is supposed to be learned. In the end, the characters resign themselves to the new reality which they fought against for the entire duration of the movie. Not here. To the contrary, at the film’s height, as the F.B.I. joyfully basks in their achievement, Lord Nikon is seen pilfering floppy disks from an F.B.I. computer, stuffing them down his pants. The only moral of the story: “There is no right or wrong, just fun or boring.” Hackers is all those who dream of being in the computer culture could ever want. It’s everything everyone fantasized of: unregulated, entertaining, stylish, and awesome. Quite the opposite of today’s reality. A life where a single Tweet can destroy your life, no matter how genuine your intentions are.
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