Hacker (I) (2016) User Reviews

It doesn't represent its Title plus Hollywood representation of Hacking

[eksapsy · 5/10 · 11 March 2017]

It's a bit disappointing going to see a movie based on the strong title it's using and then feeling like you got your time wasted.

The whole movie is not about Hacking, it's about smuggling. And how did they achieve to get the smuggling business working I hear you say? Oh by Hollywood Hacking. Which means (very little spoiler but it's covered on the start of the movie) that literally our main protagonist wrote in Google "Darkweb", got registered in the team called "Darkweb" (So the page is not even in the Darkweb) and out of nothing he just "hacks". It doesn't explain the background job or anything our protagonist does except for the foreground part of the story. Which is that somehow they get packages from someone/somewhere (we don't actually know, the story leaves us blind) and they sell them to some contacts they happen to know.

It doesn't show anything from the "Hacking" part because obviously, it's too technical and more boring than it seems. The movie makes Hacking (the 0% of the movie because in literal terms, there is no hacking, just a little bit cracking) pretty much look like a Video Game in which the hacking part is concluded by the push of a button, some terminal lines (for pretty much unknown reason) and looking at a computer screen.

They created things out of nothing (Fake ID's and Credit Cards, how did they make them ?) and pretty much nothing gets explained in the movie. The only thing close to this was at the start of the movie where our protagonist searches "How To Code", which part was NEVER used in the movie. So that part was pretty useless as well.

The only little bit exciting part was the goodbye kiss of the movie. It made a -you could call it- a little bit good plot twist but after all this hay the movie gave us, I couldn't be much excited because it still leaves many parts unexplained and the movie still doesn't deserve even a little bit the title "Hacker".

Summary ....:

This movie is not about hacking, but smuggling. If you want real hacking and cracking, go watch the series "Mr.Robot". Although, even this does not have anything that could excite you very much on the Hacking part but at least it would worth the Title "Hacker". This movie does not. It's a poorly made "Clickbaitish" title.

Not a movie about "hacking" in the traditional sense

[ElxDiablo · 6/10 · 3 April 2017]

While the acting and dialogue was solid, this rather cliché and moralistic tale may leave some people with a sour taste in their mouth.

It may leave an even worse after-taste when the (totally private) "Federal Reserve" banking system, becomes its own bubble and then bursts, which is something that appears to have been building in the wake of the mortgage-bubble lead financial meltdown. If indeed these predictions are correct, and a worldwide economic collapse of far greater magnitude ensues, the US citizens will probably be told that it was all due to "Russia", "China", and "Hackers operating out of Russia and China...who may be on their respective government's payroll".

I listen to people who actually know what they're talking about and not talking heads with vested interests, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist to smell the faint aroma of economic propaganda (or a "contingency story" for mass consumption), which may become stronger in the years to come if these economic predictions are correct.

Just some food for thought.

However, I digress. On with the review!

Why should I give this film a better-than-average rating when the plot was weak and the main protagonist knew less about protecting their online anonymity than I do? Well, to answer that question I should say that "social engineering" is also considered a valid form of hacking. People are always the weakest point in any system, hence they are the easiest way to bypass security without having to force your way through from behind a computer.

Even with the most sophisticated of proxies and other counter-measures, there is no way to ensure something won't be traced back to you online, just as there is no assurances of remaining unrecognized IRL on a camera, even with a disguise; The latter just happens to be far more efficient, and can often be achieved by using real-life proxies to do your data-collection.

The more real life proxies that are distributing the original data in a non-pyramid/linear, distributed fashion, the less chance of one person being caught as the "ring leader", which is the exact same principle one uses when using an online proxy network. The fact they did funnel information from proxies in bottom up fashion was certainly a major security flaw that would have easily have had them nabbed for credit card fraud under normal circumstances.

If you're into the guts of how people hack from behind a keyboard, then this movie is not for you...but if you want to see a totally different type of hacking at work (predominantly social engineering), you may get something out of this film in spite of its pitfalls.

Great, but not about hacking

[joao-neves95 · 7/10 · 22 August 2020]

I saw this movie a few years ago. It was one of my favourites, before I became a software engineer. It's a great story and chain of events that leads to the center piece. A nice journey indeed, but this has nothing to do with hacking. I am giving it a 7 because of nostalgia. The real rating is more like a 5.9

enjoyable as entertainment but not as a computer movie

[pandeero · 14 January 2017]

After looking for the movie Algorithm, i found another movie called Algorithm 2. i was surprised that there was a second part and set my expectations high. Later i discovered that it wasn't the second part of Algorithm but a separate movie called Hacker.

Although the big message is the same as in Algorithm, Hacker lacks on minor messages. And it lacks hacking. i think the producer has made the main point clear to me: don't mess with professionals unless u r one. u never know when and where u make a mistake and then they r after u. Playing professionals need years of experiences. If u want to run a marathon and compete with Kenyans and u r not trained then maybe u run the first kilometer and r wasted. Trying to play tennis against a pro as an amateur means not winning a single game — the odds r not with an amateur.

There is another message which is similar to the one of Algorithm but stated differently: If u want to change the world then steal enough currency and create a chaos with it because the one who owns the currency makes the rules. Although the real gangsters behind the currency system can't create new currency anymore they still have power because about ninety percent of world's population accept them as gods. They r dying out slowly and we can wait. Or we can act. But if we act then we can't use their tools because they r better on them. we have to use our own tools.

In the movie, one more point was made clear: weak men can be easily defeated by strong women. Once u start hacking something or someone, be very careful! u r being watched whether u know it or not or whether they know your intention or not. There r cameras everywhere. Every ATM has a camera and the characters in the movie didn't even cover their faces! And they were not discovered. Wasn't at least this suspicious?

The main character alex wants to use a tool that carries negative energy within — payback. Payback is continuation of violence in a violence vortex. If u want to stop violence then u don't pay back but stop it. One is only allowed to use violence while protecting themselves. In the movie, it wasn't about defense.

i don't want to spoil the ending so u can find it out on your own whether it will be left open or finite, whether they all die or not, whether they return to canonical world or go on with creating a better world.

Overall this movie is enjoyable. It is exciting and doesn't assume as much understanding of computer science than Algorithm. The story is linear and easy to follow. Characters r played well. Would i recommend it? As entertainment — yes, as a computer movie — no.

What a dreadful joke

[john-falconer · 7/10 · 10 May 2017]

The movie was OK until I saw "Z". The worst piece of makeup I have ever ever seen. What were they thinking? I just don't know why they covered this guy with brown sill putty. Silly really.

The story is OK as far as it goes. A bit over the top but that's OK. There is enough to get interested until you see Z.

A simple history, but a good film

[containterest · 6/10 · 23 June 2017]

Hacker not is a convencional hacker film, in reality having nothing about programation, but is a good history, is a good film for waste your time, good characters, good desenvelop, and a good plot twist. The actors are really goods, in specially "Lorraine Nicholson" (acting kira), she makes a good job in the character...

Writer/director - uh oh....

[iantrader · 3/10 · 21 December 2016]

I like a good hacker movie. This starts brilliantly - but goes nowhere and flounders around like a, er, flounder in a floundering thing.

As others have said, it's not so much about hacking as about scamming. It's full of very poor research and just plain wrong technical stuff. Sigh.

That there's 'something off' is so obvious but the characters don't twig. Uh oh... Dummies! Oh, and the film summary itself gives half the game away.

Apart from that, the plot just did't hang together.

Writer/director - uh oh....

He tries to bring in a character arc where the protagonist learns the errors of his ways but, heck, it's enforced, not realistic given the character and, well, total dumbbells.

Add a terrible, contrived unrealistic and dumb ending and you've got a so-so movie for people who don't know Windows from door frames - no, strike that - for people who are still looking for the Any Key!

Yup, I'll say it again - Writer/director - uh oh....

An above average movie made with a below average budget

[jtindahouse · 8/10 · 10 July 2017]

It's rare to find a film, as unheard of and made for such a low budget as 'Hacker' was, be made with such a high degree of quality. From the opening moments it was clear this movie was going to be told with a lot of class. I suppose a film subject like hacking really wouldn't seem right told any other way. Still, that doesn't make it any easier to achieve.

The thing that probably surprised me the most about the film was how good the acting was. Callan McAuliffe in particular in the lead role was an absolute delight to watch go about his craft. A reasonable amount of the film was narrated by him too and not since Morgan Freeman in 'The Shawshank Redemption' can I remember such an ideal voice for such a thing. Daniel Eric Gold also thoroughly impressed me and I think it's fair to say there wasn't a weak link in the entire cast.

'Hacker' was a really fun watch. The pacing is terrific. It glides effortlessly from scene to scene and there is always plenty going on to keep the viewer entertained. The story structuring was also very well handled and the film ended in a very clever and interesting way. Altogether I was very impressed by 'Hacker' and would thoroughly recommend people to check it out.

Good but Not a Hacker movie, its just credit card fraud.

[beamchris · 7/10 · 6 August 2021]

I was waiting for the Hacking to happen and it never did lol.. its just 3 scammers who go semi big time with their credit card scams by increasing their merchandise quality and quantity and meeting bigger buyers with deeper pockets... Sooo its pretty much a movie about 3 youngsters in their 20's who are just middle men working as a fence... Not Hackers.

Mr. Robot - The Movie... except not.

[Sancler · 3/10 · 2 November 2016]

For any real hackers (aspiring hackers, hacktivists, otherwise criminally engaged computer wizards, or simply people in general who know their stuff) it's probably best not to touch this movie... but to people who hardly know anything about the world of hacking, who can enjoy a lower tier "morally justified" heist movie, it might work pretty well.

That said, the plot is dull. Really dull. Perhaps not so much the plot itself, but rather the execution of it. It's pretty obvious (from the narration, the cast) that this movie was meant to piggyback on the hype-train of Mr. Robot. Whereas Mr. Robot actually goes into detail pretty accurately, there's hardly ANY hacking going on in this movie at all. It's just a bunch of scammer kids, with a very infantile approach to the hacking phenomenon. A mash-up of jargon, combined with really poor dialogues and acting skills in general. A "hacker" that isn't familiar with the Dark Web or Onion? I mean, really?

Apart from that, it has a nice pace with just enough going on, to maintain a certain entertainment value that made me watch it through to the end. I'm glad that I did, 'cause it has a nice twist at the end... albeit pretty far fetched.

Very Interesting Story - just misleading title

[jjchai · 9/10 · 27 February 2017]

I very rarely post review for anything. But when I do, that means this thing is very special.

I'm a programmer. I was looking for a movie about hacking. While this movie is not about hacking at all, I got so caught up that I just watched it entirely.

It takes you for a ride to the lifestyle of doing illegal stuff, and the plot makes it very interesting. It includes ups and downs; not a win-all superhero movie or lose-it-all suckish movie.

In short: exciting, fast paced and full of emotion.

The Three Amigos

[lavatch · 7/10 · 9 June 2023]

The dynamic threesome of Alex, Skye, and Kira appear to be unstoppable in their clever antics of beating the system. They have an efficient division of labor in committing internet fraud then selling the stolen high-ticket items on the black market.

The most intriguing of the secondary characters was Curtis, the security specialist who manipulated the three amigos for his purposes of taking down the notorious cyber criminal Zed, who runs the Dark Web. Unbeknownst to Alex and Skye, Kira was a plant working at the behest of Curtis.

The only disappointing part of the film was the ending. If there was a romantic connection between Alex and Kira, it was never fully developed in the film. Their strange meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, after Alex has spent two years in prison ended abruptly and with little clarity. One senses, however, that the criminal cyber activities of Alex and Kira are to be continued...perhaps in a film sequel.

Waste of time except..

[dilipkhumark · 3/10 · 21 June 2017]

Except if you like seeing cities and some lavish spending spree. its complete waste of time.

big time amateur film making. The narration is bad. events are totally flawed. they would go live in presidential suite but take a cheap cab on way from airport? covers up operations so well but give it away for prison cell at small cyber cafe?

hacker is always critical in thinking.. how did he even miss looking into the uncle?

Goofs which are not

[dighambara-89081 · 25 June 2017]

Most Canadians speak with a distinctively American Accent, as opposed to British. Some Provinces do compare with a few Norther States of the US, but it is still a decidedly common way of speaking. Additionally, 'College' is common colloquial American for any study beyond High School, including University. The US has a diversity of dialects, North to South and East to West.

Summary: the goofs based on not sounding Canadian are in themselves goofs.

10% "hacking" ,90% wannabe crime/robbery thriller

[mateiboboc · 1/10 · 23 June 2020]

I decided to watch this movie with some friends after looking for a hacker/crime thriller movie, something like Mr. Robot but a feature-length film. As a student at a programming course, I can say that the movie's portrayal of hackers is abysmal to say the least. Google-ing the term "dark web" for real? A "dark web" evil authoritarian mobster crimelord? It just looks like they didn't even try or think the audience wouldn't notice....which is what I hate most about movies: insulting the viewer's intelligence.

The beginning was the only fine part about the whole thing, at least it made me care a little about the protagonist, even if it meant getting bored 2 scenes later. The acting is pretty rough and feels plastic and cheap, but it's actually better than in movies with a higher production value. One of the most annoying parts about the whole movie is that it feels like an amateur film or some documentary about hackers you would be presented at school. Nothing is realistic, there is no sense of mystery or tension, the characters basically exist to convey the message that crime and hacking bad, you can't get rich quick etc...I can't even tell you to watch it as a so-bad-that-it's-good or drunk-with-friends movie, as the only part where we burst out laughing was when the main evil Zed guy was revealed to be a burned(?) man in a wheelchair with a fake accent. You can even see the actor controlling his laughter at some points ,it's honestly hilarious. I don't even know what happened to his face, the makeup is so horrendous it's not even complete around his ears and neck....you just can't take it seriously.

And his motivations? At the beginning he looks like he wants to overthrow the system and conduct a revolution ,but later in the film he looks more like a mobster that wants to make money through stocks and nothing else. There are several character inconsistencies as well, such as him being an extra careful and prudent know-it-all puppetmaster early on to completely risking all of his efforts by sending the money earlier to the protagonist towards the end ,without any actual reason than to advance the plot and get him arrested. Notice that I put quotation marks in the title. It wasn't by accident. This movie probably has 10% of Hollywood Hacking in it, nothing more. The closest thing it resembles is a crime / robbery thriller, although I would be insulting those genres by classifying it as such.

I could be talking waaay more about it, but honestly I just want to forget wasting my buddies time (and mine) with this movie. Long story short, stay away from it, want a true hacker show? Go with Mr. Robot. Want a good crime/robbery thriller? Go with Good Time, The Departed, Goodfellas, there are so many choices better than this steaming pile of bull.

I liked it.

[malcolm-05788 · 8/10 · 14 January 2018]

The production and story was good for a $2,000,000 film.

As others have mentioned, the ending was a little odd, bit oh well.

Cringe 100!!!

[smrobinson-41670 · 1/10 · 7 August 2020]

If the things shown in this movie was that easy, I would've been a millionaire now. They make it look so easy. Here are some extraordinary tactics shown in the movie (spoilers ). Meeting a hacker whom you met on the internet Trying to takedown a Bank with a rubber ducky(with CCTVs everywhere ) Getting access to a "dangerous" hackers' group by creating a phishing site and fooling a teenager. Trying to sell stolen expensive watches by going shop to shop. Being a member of a hackers' community without knowing what is Tor or Bitcoin. And it had much more. A real hacker or who is good in that field will find this movie totally $H!T¥. Along with these the awful acting, worst casting and story telling just adds some more to it.even in the bgm side, I didn't notice anything special. I think that its a low budget film, yet they could've done way better. And they had money to shoot some useless scenes in a few countries. So please don't waste your time or data watching this.

Very good and awesome movie. I don't know why some people rated it so bad. I watched this movie from the beginning to end and it was very enjoyable.

[reeyaad-718-730347 · 10/10 · 6 May 2017]

Normally I search at IMDb before watching a movie but I made an exception in this case. But it didn't disappoint me at all. The movie was actually better than I expected it to be. In this movie it shows that how helpless immigrants become when they move to a new country for better life, It shows how some people's lives are ruined because of not having enough money. It shows how far you're willing to go to take revenge if anything hurts you and your family very badly. It clearly shows the consequence of doing something illegal and how it can affect your life and the people around you. I agree that there are some parts of the movie that were too unrealistic to be real. But it's just a movie man, How many movies you've watched are actually based on true story?? I've loved this movie from the beginning to the end and I'll be more than happy to recommend it to anyone who wants to watch a good movie and have a good time.

A bit behind the times.

[deanski · 1/10 · 6 November 2016]

This is an astonishingly bad film. The acting is adequate but somewhat two dimensional while the characterisations and scripting are stupidly caricature-like.

When they talk about visiting a website called The Dark Web as though they are using the actual dark web (peer to peer technology) is when I really gave up. They even refer to someone as The Head of the Dark Web! Basically this film is nothing but propaganda and disinformation and is clearly against privacy laws and anonymity. It is exactly the opposite of what one would expect from a film with this title if it had been made by people with an interest in telling a story that has some basis in reality. It is cartoon-ish to say the very least.

Feeble Easy Money Internet Tale

[LimbleKite · 1/10 · 15 March 2018]

Hey. Maybe it's just me but I hate crime movies where the criminals are a bunch of dumb asses. Like this one. In fairness, it's not so much that their character is stupid, but that the script calls for stupid things in order to advance the plot.

See, the main hacker kid was supposed to be brainy and knowledgeable, even if he doesn't know hacking exactly. More like a bunch of idiotic clichés like all you gotta do is cruise on over to darkweb.com and create an account.

Anyway, some Columbian guy forgets his credit card in a strip club so Mr. Hacker and his beer buzz buddy decide to use it to withdraw a bunch of cash. It's a very high end card, but it's too dangerous to use more than once. Beer Buzz and Hacker agree. One big score, no more. Good times.

Months later in the movie, someone decided that they need to push the plot sideways and get a little bathroom blood revenge porn splashed all over Beer Buzz. The easiest way to go is to have Beer Buzz use the dangerous credit card again so Mr. Columbian, who thoughtfully never canceled the card, can get a line on the stupids.

Let's see. If you used a high end credit card for a one time scam and vowed to never use it again, why would you then keep it? Surely you'd cut it up into little strips and toss it in the garbage with the cold Chinese food.

Then there's the girl (we gotta have a girl) with the mysterious uncle who's always finding them the perfect clients for the stuff they buy with stolen credit cards. Little much for Ms. 18, maybe 19, to have such deep contacts all over the place, including the other side of the world when the gang finally lights out for Hong Kong, but somehow Hacker Boy is okay with it all and just wants to trust her. Beer Buzz knows something's hinky, but gets outvoted.

Then much later Hacker needs to use an internet café in Thailand. Take this credit card he says to the clerk, as if he needed to risk using a stolen card to save maybe a buck. We're talking Thailand for Christ's sake, not the internet they charge you extra for at Motel 6, but another plot move was needed and of course said credit card bounces and police arrive to throw Hacker Boy in jail for two years. No bad-ass tattooed cellmate at least, Hacker gets a cell all to himself. Pretty nice in Thailand jails, huh?

Anyway, one day they set him free, hand him a box of his stuff that somehow disappears in the next shot, and he goes outside where Ms. 18, maybe 19 narrates the mysterious uncle explanation, and hands Hacker boy a new passport - all while standing practically in front of the two guards with automatic weapons outside the jail exit. These are the sort of things that make a movie like this so lame, and should have caused all involved to be tossed in the clinker in the first ten minutes.

Twisted life forced by unexpected circumstances.

[pelarcakarlovern-92122 · 9/10 · 7 November 2016]

Although my life was not the same with the situation in the movie "Hacker". I learned a lot. The Future or your destiny is unpredictable. You wouldn't know what road you'll be in. The feelings I felt when I watched the movie, it tells me that you own your life, it may change the situation(could be easy or hard) but not you, it will always remain you. Sometimes the road you took may tells you and everyone of who you really are. Temptation is everywhere, I realize also that its not really a sin, it will only be called sin if you fall for it and took it. With the desire for the material things and revenge to somebody, sometimes, it make us blind and took those temptations around us and then noticing at the very end the mistakes. trying to correct the past that is impossible to do but will serve as lesson to move on and start a new one. I regret I haven't seen this movie last year, I believe it was not released to all cinemas in my country, especially in my area. I would say this movie is awesome. Nice plot with awesome cast.

This movie is pure trash

[angusmitchell-26994 · 1/10 · 21 December 2016]

I cannot recommend this movie. There are not any interesting characters, moments or insights. It seemed as if the directors didn't know how to use google to research even the most basic information about hackers. The use of narration throughout the film felt like I was watching an educational film in P.E. at high school. I cringed during this movie more than i did watching Adam Sandler's 'click' and 'big daddy' combined. Please don't waste your time with this movie. I can recommend the book "We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec" on this topic.

Best Regards, H4X0R

TLDR: this movie gave me cancer.

its quite good, F you haters

[tilak · 9/10 · 4 March 2018]

Well first of all middle finger for haters. Its not actually about hacking, so what its a damn good entertainment. It keeps you interested till the end, never miss a beat . This movies will be one of "must watch" in the future. The problem with these critics, is that they always look for Oscar material. The movie with compassion ,humanity, blah blah blah, which is most likely a boring over long box office turkey. Whats wrong with entertainment, that's what movies are for. Watch this movie, you will definitely like it.

Waste of time

[srodflacdc-98548 · 1/10 · 9 April 2017]

Unbelievably, I made it all the way through this miserable movie. Half way through I literally googled it to see if it were written by a child. I wouldn't even recommend this movie for a rainy day with nothing else on TV. Just turn your TV off and stare at the blank screen for two hours, instead of watching this movie. You'll thank me.

Hacker uses google to search for "deepweb"

[orfibus · 1/10 · 2 May 2017]

This movie is just bad for a hacker movie.

There is no actual hacking in it. Not even script kiddie style things.

Acting is bad and without a plot, the movie just cannot touch you in any moment and just feels uninteresting.

If you ask me, you can't make a movie called "Hacker" when the closest think to hacking is a hacker social media site.