+++
title = "Hackers (1995)"
author = ["Michał Sapka"]
date = 2024-11-17T20:26:00+01:00
categories = ["reviews"]
draft = false
weight = 2016
reviewSection = ["Movies"]
image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
image_max_width = 765
abstract = "My review of the movie Hackers"
image = "reviews/covers/hackers.jpg"
rating = 4
+++

There are movies which I absolutely despised when I first saw them.
They were loud, obnoxious, made little sense.
Some of them, with passing time, grew on me.

Hackers is a 1995 movie about, well, hackers.
We start with Dade, an 11 year old geek, being arrested for hacking and crashing over 1,5k computer systems.
He is sentenced to the worst imaginable sentence - an judge imposed mandated ban on using computer system till he reaches 18 years of age.
Somehow we don't care what happened during those years, as we jump 7 years in the future (which seem to be undefined "now" of 1990s).
Dade is hacking once again, and as a result he joins a group of hackers and becomes part of an conspiracy.

Say what you will, _Hackers_ takes the hacker ethos pretty seriously and this is what escaped my teenage understanding.
All of the main characters (who are using simply amazing handles, like Zero Cool or Cereal Killer) break into system for the fun of it.
They are prosecuted by the government and media portrays them as dangerous individuals, but they are anything but maleficent.

Now, there is a plot where the entire group is messing with an FBI agent by hacking IT systems and modifying data related to him.
That's the closest where they come to having bad intentions, but it's presented as a cool game.
They don't want to destroy him, just to mess with him.

The hacking scenes make close to zero sense - but that's Hollywood for you.
We haven't seen serious attempt at showing it before _Mr Robot_.
Therefore, we can see past it.

The authors did made some research.
In one scene, Dade is tested from hacker knowledge.
A series of famous (and existing!) books is presented to him, and he names them with cure (also real!) nicknames like "Orange Book".

{{< image source="https://medium.com/@atroche/my-favourite-visuals-in-hackers-1995-79b3292d7475" class="centered" alt="Group of youg man sitting at a table, covered in coloroful ligting. They are talking and holding and orange book." file="hackers-1.webp" >}}
Orange book in person
{{< /image >}}

But we can't see past the fashion.
I have no idea _how_ anyone came with what we see here, but it's simply glorious.
Just look!
I refuse to believe, that this was not the official fashion of New York in the 90s.

Also, the quotes.
If there is a infinitely quotable movie, it is Hackers.
_Hack the Planet_ or _"There is no right and wrong. There's only fun and boring_ should be recognized by anyone working in IT.
I may be wrong, but I think there are questions about _Hackers_ on CompTIA Security+

What the movies makes in its heart, it lacks in brains.
The main villain is trying to get rich and put the blame on our hackers.
The plan makes very little sense, as the _twist_ (which I will not reveal) would be very quickly discovered.
This removes some of the tension, as it's not stopping the evil guy, but about who will go jail.

{{< image source="https://medium.com/@atroche/my-favourite-visuals-in-hackers-1995-79b3292d7475" class="centered" alt="An white man is sitting in the center, back to us. In front of him is a huge screen with blue city-scape is in front of him." file="hackers-2.webp" >}}
A typical data center
{{< /image >}}

The antagonist character is also weak.
He has the most over the top quotes and reactions - even if he has the only hacker-worthy keyboard to be seen here.
The acting is great, as no one busted out laughing, but no points here.

_Hackers_ is a fun little movie, with a huge soul.
It's dumb, loud and over-stylized.
By any means I would not call it "good".
But it's also one the few movies which show the soul of a hacker.
I think everyone should see it at least once.
It's not longer a bad thriller, it's a now a fun and cool cult movie.

> You wage wars, murder, cheat, lie to us and try to make us believe it's for our own good, yet we're the criminals. Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity.