Michael Mann loves to play the hits. Whether Mann’s films work or fail, they all incorporate Mann’s signature filmmaking style and trademarks. “A troubled man with an elite skill faces an existential crisis” could describe nearly all of Mann’s protagonists. Mann’s films always feature expertly shot nighttime scenes, visceral action, vibrant colors, and thunderous sound. You may not like one of Mann’s films, but you’ll know immediately it’s a distinct entry on his resume. Mann is one of the few singular filmmakers.
A decade ago, Mann directed Blackhat, an action thriller about cyberattacks in the digital age. After the hacking of a Hong Kong nuclear power plant and Chicago’s Mercantile Trade Exchange, the FBI releases hacker Nick Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth) from prison into their custody to find the source of the hack. Upon its 2015 release, the globetrotting thriller quickly became a box office bomb backed by negative reviews. Blackhat is by no means a perfect film; Mann will tell you that himself. Upon further examination, Blackhat feels ahead of its time in its depiction of hacking and the global implications that could send the world into a tailspin.
Michael Mann’s playbook is still effective
Mann loves his flawed men. Masculinity has been a major theme of Mann’s filmography, and Blackhat follows suit with Hathaway, the intellectual lone-wolf hacker who does his own time, “not the institution’s.” Like many of Mann’s protagonists, Hathaway dreams of a new life but knows he can’t escape his past, no matter how hard he tries. Hathaway is not afraid to physically mix it up, but his gift is his brain. Hathaway’s hacking is the skill that will always make him of use to forces like the FBI, who will never let him out of their grasp. Hathaway even finds love with Chen Lien (Tang Wei), a partner who’s crazy enough to believe in a happy ever after even though it’s an impossible dream.
This vulnerability is the side of masculinity that Mann consistently shows in his tragic heroes. Mann is also obsessed with showing how meticulous these experts are in their craft — Will Graham’s profiling in Manhunter, Neil McCauley’s meticulousness in Heat, and Frank’s safecracking in Thief. Add Hathaway’s computer prowess to the list. It’s hard to imagine any other director besides Mann filming computer-hacking scenes with the ferocity of a car chase.
It wouldn’t be a Mann film without striking visuals and eye-popping color. No one implements color or shoots better nighttime scenes than Mann, who paints his visuals with a lot of deep blues and greens, especially for his port shots. Blackhat is Mann’s first film to be shot entirely on digital, taking full advantage of the format’s high-definition and high-speed capabilities. Even in a movie about global hacking, Mann still snuck in an invigorating shootout and car explosion that’s loud, explosive, and visceral — the Mann special. It’s a scene that would be in most directors’ top five action scenes, but for Mann, it doesn’t even crack his top 10.
The Director’s Cut improves Blackhat dramatically
Blackhat is another example of a great idea that ultimately failed in its execution. Don’t believe me? That comes directly from Mann, who told Variety that Blackhat bombed because “the script was not ready to shoot.” Blackhat grossed $19.7 million against a $70 million budget, one of the biggest flops of 2015. Even without knowing Mann’s critique, Blackhat feels out of sorts, with several scenes feeling out of place due to poorly dubbed dialogue and questionable scene placement.
While it didn’t get the notoriety of the Snyder Cut, Mann reedited Blackhat to the original version he planned to release. There are a few additional and shortened scenes, particularly one with Hathaway, Lien, and Jessup (Holt McCallany) losing a tail shortly after arriving in Hong Kong. The biggest change moves the nuclear reactor hack from the opening moments to the middle after the storm drain scene. Mann regrets moving it to the front of the film, having felt pressure from the studio to increase the stakes from the first scene.
Frankly, the reason for moving the nuclear scene to the front makes sense. A nuclear explosion being used as the reason to break Hathaway out of prison is stronger than a hacker manipulating the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to drive up soy futures. However, opening with the soy futures hack instead of the nuclear power plant meltdown fits better with Blackhat’s emphasis on cyberattacks and the digital world. With the nuclear reactor in the middle, Mann does not have to awkwardly dub in conversations in the first act, making for a better viewing experience.
The depiction of digital attacks and cybersecurity feels all too real
Few filmmakers are more obsessed with process and attention to detail than Mann. He famously made James Caan learn how to crack safes in Thief. Mann leaves no stone unturned as he strives to bring authenticity to whatever expert skill is at the forefront of his movie. In Blackhat, the craft at hand is hacking. Mann was inspired to make a film about cyberattacks after the Stuxnet computer worm that affected Iran’s nuclear program. It’s easy to laugh at the depiction of hacking in most movies. Whether it’s the “guy in the chair” typing unrealistically or the genius spouting nonsense as they furiously hammer the keys, it’s hard to take these hacking scenes seriously. More times than not, they come off as parodies.
There’s nothing funny about hacking in Blackhat. Mann spoke with real-life hackers, including Kevin Poulsen, who applauded the film for capturing how a “single attack can implicate so many countries.” Blackhat accurately stresses the importance of cybersecurity and how human lapses can lead to digital attacks. Hacking isn’t glamorous like it is in The Matrix. It can be boring and mundane. Typing UNIX commands isn’t sexy, but it’s authentic.
In that same Variety profile where Mann blamed himself for Blackhat‘s failures, the multi-time Oscar nominee also knew he was “ahead of the curve” with his premise. “There were a number of people who thought this was all fantasy,” Mann said. “Wrong. Everything is stone-cold accurate.” Let’s hope Mann’s accuracy stays in Blackhat and doesn’t translate to reality.
Stream Blackhat on Netflix.