Hackers made a good impression with me by dropping the right names (with references to devils and dragons), and having the right attitude (anarchistic). But the plot leaves a bit to be desired. Dade Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller) is found guilty of computer crime as a 11-year old and is on probation until his 18th birthday. He transfers to a high school in New York City, where his hacking skills, under the name of Crash Override, earn him the respect of his peers. Well, most of them at least. Kate aka Acid Burn (Angelina Jolie), a goth-like character, doesn't like the new intruder invading her turf. But when the forces of evil, in this case represented by another hacker, The Plague (Fisher Stevens), threaten environmental pollution and the hacker name itself, they unite in order to defeat him.
The cinematography is rather interesting. Somewhat dark and in your face, along the lines of a MTV video, it maintains the user's attention through some of the boring scenes. I thought the special effects were used very well in the movie, even though they weren't anything terribly fancy.
While Hackers captures the hacker ethic and spirit to some degree, it does not succeed in doing so completely. Still, the movie is quite decent, and definitely worth watching on the big screen. I think Sneakers remains the best computer hacker movie made to date.
"Obsessive, idealistic, often reclusive, always brilliant, they were HACKERS."