Diary entries forBlackhat
Blackhat
Se o colapso desse fluxo imagético de Mann ainda encontrava resquícios de estabilidade nas texturas da película digital, em Blackhat esse equilíbrio é dilascerado de imediato na sequência de abertura (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyplbIYB0aY), onde a composição virtual atravessa as barreiras da imagem sem meandros. O cineasta promove essa catarse das formas ao utilizar o dispositivo para estimular uma movimentação irrepreensível das coisas até em plano e contra-plano, posicionando com mais ênfase os seus personagens nas ruínas de uma realidade tecnológica, oprimidos pela onipresença de celulares e computadores.
Blackhat
sort of a 'vibes' movie for me. a slow burn hacker movie sounds pretty sick on paper but it might be a little too slow. or maybe too long. an hour forty-five seem like it'd be the sweet spot that being said, the good stuff is pretty good. it doesn't have the typical goofy hacker logic that a lot of these kinds of movies have. I doubt it's very accurate but it feels a little more realistic. the code still beeps and boops which is always funny but even that is a little more subdued it's fun, the action that's there is mostly good and it's just a cool movie overall that sticks around just a tad too long
Blackhat
Another in the Michael Mann series DUDES ROCK
Blackhat
Mann certainly has a way of adding a layer of gravitas to every film he touches. It makes me want to take the film seriously. However, the fact that this is such an uninteresting story stops me from doing that. The Mann visuals and hard hitting action set pieces are here, but they’re not supported by anything substantive. Poor Viola though, I hope she got paid extra to wear that wig!
Blackhat
“I’m not sure there’s a light at the end of this tunnel anymore.” It’s insane to think about just how much the Director’s Cut of BLACKHAThas changed my perspective on the entire film, from top-to-bottom. When I first watched the theatrical cut, about a year and a half ago, I was less than enthused with it. It had beautiful imagery and great, well-shot action (because of course it did) but I didn’t feel the emotional undertow that always so draws me into Mann’s works and let’s me appreciate them on a deeper, personal level. In the theatrical, I didn’t feel that connection to the characters and their journey. This is not the case with the Director’s Cut. I don’t recall enough details about the original cut to say this definitivelybut in the DC, the central relationship and story felt much more compelling and narratively rich. Is it because the film’s events are now in chronological orders? Perhaps that’s true. Perhaps the edit and the additional scenes made for a better viewing experience and underline the thematic intent of the film or maybe the film just spoke to me this rewatch. It’s been known to happen. Either way, I’m ecstatic to say that this has become one of my favorite Mann films and my favorite Mann viewing experience next to watching Miami Vice (https://boxd.it/3dkRr1) for the first time. To some, particularly one person, my change of heart about the film might seem abrupt or unexpected but for me it’s not. As I said, Blackhat is the runner-up for my most enjoyable Mann viewing experience after Miami Vice and these films share a lot of common themes and directorial sensibilities that just speak to me—there’s even shades of Thief (https://boxd.it/2Ql1QD)here as well. As with all of my favorite Mann films, the most compelling aspect of Blackhat for me was the romance. Say one thing for Michael Mann, say he knows how to tell a story about doomed love and fraught connection. It’s a reoccurring theme in all of his work, but I have to sayHemsworth’s Hathaway and Wei’s Lien might be my favorite portrayal of it. From their first kiss on city-lit rooftops to when they fade into the background of blurry security cam footage, I was completely invested in them. It’s rare to root for a relationship in a Mann film and not be faced with a tragic ending. Unlike in his other films, Hathaway and Lien are able to walk away towards a better life, a life removed from the dangers that brought them to where they are. In addition to the streamlined narrative and the strong romantic through-line, the film features some thoughtful commentary on how the advent of the modern cyber era has desensitized us to one another. Corporations, banks, cyber-terrorists and the like don’t think of those they’re harming as people. They’re 1s and 0s, they’re an account number, a target to be taken advantage of or taken out for personal gain. How do we overcome the machine and see each other? How can we fight not to lose our humanity when who we are can be broken down into bite sized, easily assessable pieces of information? Well, I’d hazard a guess that Mann would say to find your program, to find each other, and to never forget the value of individual people. The cost of life and how we’re connected. Blackhat has such a prescient and radical thematic approach to these modern philosophical dilemmas, I could waste your time talking about them at length, but I won’t, not here. Maybe the next review. Narrative and themes aside, there’s no doubt in my mind that Mann is the best digital filmmaker living today. I’ve heard that said before by quite a few friends and I’ve never been able to/felt inclined to argue the point but now I firmly agree. The imagery and visuals here are so lush and striking, still dancing around my head even the morning after. Mann and cinematographer Dryburgh work together to craft one of the best “moods” in any Mann film I’ve experienced. It’s spacey and melancholic. It’s a maze of longing through neon cityscapes…in a way, the vibes are very similar to Miami Vice. No notes. A perfect film. Mann is the truth and I should have never doubted him.
Blackhat
Seeing how the long-awaited Director’s cut of this recently came out, I thought it was about time for me to revisit BLACKHATand see if this new cut is substantial enough to change my previous rating. Now, I don’t know if it has more to do with the the amount of time that has passed since I first saw it, but this time around I really enjoyed Mann’s foray into the shadowy world of cyber-crime. The film’s initial opening for the theatrical release starts off with a bang, but in the director’s cut we start in a quiet, empty stock exchange room (the explosive intro is now set in the middle part of the film) as a malicious virus makes its way into the system. I’d argue this change really sets the mood for the overall viewing experience - uncompromising as much as it is stylish. This is just a cool ass movie that I feel goes unappreciated (albeit, it can be a tad silly). I really recommend revisiting this with the director’s cut, if you haven’t already.
Blackhat
Out of all the Michael Mann films I’ve watched, I keep finding myself coming back to Blackhat—a movie that famously failed to find its audience. A lot of people wrote it off as boring, convoluted, and lacking the flashy (dated) hacker spectacle other cyber-thrillers lean on. It’s since picked up a cult following, and I’m proud to be part of it. For a long time, cinema has struggled to render the physical weight of technology—the tangible consequences of cyberwarfare, the infrastructure it runs through, and the real-world damage it can do. Mann positions Blackhat as a direct response to that gap, rooted in the implications of Stuxnet-era conflict—something he’s spoken about on record. The film is less hacker fantasy and more global logistics thriller—modern power exercised through cables, ports, data centers, and jurisdictions. He gives the intangible a concrete, physical presence, and his direction earns that at every turn. It’s cold, procedural, and deeply committed to his evolving digital aesthetic. Notably, this is also the first feature in his filmography shot entirely on digital. I love the director’s cut opening, where we’re dropped into an intricate web of data streaming through wires and circuitry—a bombastic introduction to what turns out to be a remarkably banal inciting crime: the artificial spiking of the price of soybeans. That gap between spectacle and mundanity is, I believe, precisely the point, and it’s a brilliant way to set the table. It’s not perfect—some side characters don’t get the depth I’d want, and Hemsworth can be a mixed bag—but I can’t help it. I enjoy every minute of this. In Mann’s world, the abstract becomes lethal and the ordinary becomes geopolitical. One of the best cyber thrillers out there, and I genuinely don’t think anything has topped it.
Blackhat
“This isn't about money. This isn't about politics. I can target anyone, anything, anywhere.” Michael Mann (https://boxd.it/2pf7) is an American director know for his influential works such as Thief (https://boxd.it/1TEc), Manhunter (https://boxd.it/1TOw), and most notably Heat (https://boxd.it/2bg8). His visual style consists of cool, stylized shots of realism — he captures every lock picked, every gun loaded, and every computer hacked in such a cold manner that his visual flare works well to enhance the image. A heightened reality, if you will. Much like Thief (https://boxd.it/1TEc), Michael Mann’s (https://boxd.it/2pf7) foray into the cybercrime world has a big focus on the “how” the act is committed. He utilizes wonderfully sweeping shots of hard drives and motherboards, like a drone overlooking a massive city, when a hacker implants a trigger into a nuclear power plants computer code — which begs the question, how safe are we? From such a seemingly tiny, minute click of a button such devastation was wrought and its that harsh reality that really drives home Blackhat (https://boxd.it/62Te) and its themes of mass surveillance and the connection between power and networks. Unlike its predecessors, Blackhat (https://boxd.it/62Te) stumbles when it comes to the human side of its story. A severe lack of character is introduced with Chris Hemsworth’s (https://boxd.it/43Cn)Hathaway, the extremely buff criminal hacker that we follow through the film. My issue is not so much that he is a bad actor, because I think he does a decent job, but mostly that he is incredibly miscast for the role. I found a lot of the human element in the film to be particularly weak and a lack of development leaves us with nothing more than vessels to move the plot along. It’s a little bit unfortunate, seeing as I have been wanting to watch this since it released. That’s not to say it’s a bad movie just that it could be so much better, especially from Michael Mann. (https://boxd.it/2pf7)
Blackhat
i just thought it was kind kind of boring tbh, and I really struggled to care about any of the characters. i don't get what people see in this
Blackhat
put on hold until I discover which version is better
