Fifteen years ago today, “Hackers” – a much mocked, yet much beloved piece of mid-90’s cheese – hit theatres. Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman gave it a D, declaring it a “dismal mess”, adding “…what’s most grating about Hackers, however, is the way the movie buys in to the computer-kid-as-elite-rebel mystique currently being peddled by magazines like Wired.” Roger Ebert opted to give it 3 stars, calling it “smart and entertaining, then, as long as you don’t take the computer stuff very seriously”.
Everyone has their favorite cult movies; this one is mine. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on Netflix instant queue as of a few weeks ago. You owe it to yourself to watch this fantastical attempt at a technothriller and delight in dialog such as “Turn on your computer. Set it to receive a file.”
