Rent Blackhat (2015)

A really good return to form by Mann, despite some narrative issues. A solid & gripping film - Blackhat review by TB

Michael Mann is an iconic filmmaker. Since he first started producing films, graduating from TV, you know exactly what you are going to get: stunningly photographed scenes, meticulously researched scripts & truly believable characters who are intensely driven, relentless individuals set on a collision course with each other. The absolute nadir of this, as well as one of the best films ever made & which is still consistently mentioned as having one of the greatest scenes in movie history, is Heat.

Unfortunately, amongst the incredible filmography, including The Last of the Mohicans & Collateral, he has also produced some real duds. Public Enemies was absolutely atrocious: the nonsensical & idiotic choice to film it in the highest quality, crystal clear HD, making it look like it was shot in the present day, even though everything else was perfectly designed to look like the early 30's, was almost as stupid as the sound quality, by far the worst I have ever heard on any Hollywood movie. Miami Vice was another film which, given it was based on Mann's own TV series, was also terrible: a script/story so stodgy & all over the place, it was almost impossible to follow.

The reason I mention those two films is because, for many people, Blackhat would also belong with them. When it was released, it was dismissed by many people as another misfire, mainly due to the fact that it's storyline was basically hackers trying to outwit different country’s secret services, as well as each other. Chris Hemsworth was also seen as a strange choice, given that most people's idea of cyber criminals are obese, pale-skinned losers who live in their mother's basements. But this is a really good, interesting & beautiful looking film, even if it does lose it's way towards the end.

Everything I mentioned at the start about what you expect from Mann's films is here, but this also is a lot lighter in tone in many ways. As much as there is a lot of detail to take in, you never get lost in the narrative. There is also extremely well-written characters, brilliantly acted. Viola Davis, who takes any material she is given & elevates it as well as the film, is solidly dependable; as is Ritchie Coster who is genuinely scary as the psychopathic & dead-eyed mercenary.

For me however, the stand-out is Tang Wei. After her incredible debut in Lust, Caution & subsequent idiotic banning of her from the Asian entertainment industry, she returns with a beautifully realised & magnetically played part, so much more than the damsel in distress, eye-candy role which she could do easily have been cast as. Chen is a highly capable, driven & fiercely intelligent woman, who also is allowed to show intense vulnerability for both the losses she experiences, as well as the fear she has for the people who are trying to kill her. Crucially, she is also not sidelined by the narrative as the film progresses.

Unfortunately, the film does lose its focus towards the end. After a perfect & magnetic build-up, the film does lose steam & momentum, almost like Mann & writer Morgan Davis Foehl simply could not agree on how the story should finish & then cobbled together this ending. Mann himself said as much in later interviews (“The script wasn’t ready.”) But despite this, I cannot deny I had a blast. I really was gripped, excited & hooked by the story. And as much as there was issues with the narrative, I still highly recommend this. 

Finally, if possible, see this in remastered 4K. It looks absolutely flawless.