Sneakers (1992)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Purely Joyful Movie!

Absolutely Fantastic

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This movie is indeed fun, bolstered by some really strong performances, that of Strathairn, the much lost Phoenix, and the much underused Poitier, while I did like Ackroyd's hairdo. Steered by not the strongest performer, though Redford had a very natural flair for the role, he plays a genius and still wanted hacker who becomes embroiled in the past, when he's called upon/forced to steal this black box, and deliver it to the CIA. Complications do arise for him and his impressive team of counterparts, when they make a second attempt, where Redford's first solo one fails. Definitely thrilling and intriguing, as far as the hacking angle goes, I'll give you that, but really, when it comes down to it, the film doesn't really add up to anything special sitting between good and ordinary. Kingsley is great as always as Redford's betrayed hacker friend, now a nemesis, while Macdonell, adds sexy appeal as the lone female co star.

I like this movie as it is about people getting into places where they are not supposed to. It begins with two friends breaking into secure computer systems and transferring funds to other organisations, but they are found out: one, Cosmo (Ben Kingsley) is arrested and the other, Martin Bishop (Robert Redford) escapes. The movie then moves into the present to where Bishop has become a man who breaks into corporations to test their security system.The movie focuses on a security team who are blackmailed into stealing a black box which turns out to be a code breaker. The team consists of Donald Crease (Sidney Poitier) who is an ex-CIA agent, "Mother" (Dan Akroyd) who seems to love his conspiracy theories, Whistler (David Strathairn), a blind computer programmer, Carl Arborgast (River Pheonix), a kid who is brilliant at hacking, and Liz (Mary McDonald) who is not really part of the team, and doesn't really want to be a part of the team, but Bishop was able to charm her into helping them out.I am not at all familiar with Robert Redford so this is the first movie that I have seen that he is in. Still, I think he is a reasonably good actor and Bishop was reasonably good character. Bishop is not unique though because he is seen as an "always will win" character. Cosmo constantly refers to how Bishop always wins and really this is what the conflict is based about. It is not essentially a save the world flick, but the continuation of a quarrel between two friends.Further more, there seems to be discussion between Bishop and Cosmo about changing the world. When they were young, they were idealistic and believed they could do anything. Now that they are older, Bishop sees that you can't change anything, while Cosmo still believes he can. It also shows how lonely Cosmo really is in the position he has come to. He is powerful and he has money, but he is alone. It is not that he has a code breaker and can hack any computer in America, rather it is that he wants his friend with him.I thought all of the characters came out well, especially in the final scene where their quirky personalities really had a bit of a play with the government. The movie is fun and I enjoyed it.

Sneakers has aged really well. Made in 1992 soon after the end of the Cold War, it offers a sensible, grown up, tense, accurate and not-improbable plot about a group of security consultants who get caught up in a mind-twisting entrapment conspiracy. They are hired to steal a 'black box' a cryptography mathematical formula hardwired into chip that makes it a cyber code-breaker. Obviously this is worth a lot to various governments and organisations and they are hunted by many, and don't know who to trust. Fun, tongue in cheek performances from Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell and James Earl Jones - quite a stellar ensemble cast - are entertaining and whilst not worthy of high acclaim and showers of awards, they are to the point and ideal. The success and overall appeal of this film is the story, the believability and it's lighthearted take on a serious matter. There is action, fun, technology and gadgets used in inventive and intriguing ways, and there's lots of humour. It's the kind of film you can watch again and again, and I have, and I still feel that I don't know it all. The plot is complex and it was quite a few viewings before I had a handle on it as the film doesn't spoon feed the viewer and lots of questions are deliberately left unanswered to add to suspense. The characters are funny, almost anonymous, they aren't multi-dimensional deep with convoluted back stories and tales to tell, but they are all clearly drawn and a little caricatured. There's some great one-liners, some politics and idealism and also loyalty, friendship and love. It's got everything, but without resorting to gratuitous language or violence or obscenity to get the point across, which is a breath of fresh air. It uses intelligence and intrigue, with adult characters (these films are usually college age and is simply a fantastic piece of cinema. I recommend anyone sees it, and it's one that really does stand up to repeated watching, and you'd never know it was over twenty years old as it's still relevant and pertinent today as ultimate codebreakers for hackers are still the holy grail of governments, mega-corporations, organised crime, terrorists, conspiracists and freedom fighters the world over.

Sidney Poitier - River Phoenix - Dan Ackroyd - Mary McDonnell - Robert Redford - James Earl Jones... and Gandhi! Not to mention a youngish David Strathairn.This film made in 1992 is very relevant today, dealing with issues like encryption, security, access, Identification... At the time this film was made, the PC was just starting to be used for common uses. This film is a pretty accurate look back at the state of the industry for 1992, and some of the speculative uses shown here have actually come into being.This film shows Robert Redford as he heads a group of people who are uniquely talented in manipulating several fields of computer and telephone uses... and Ab-uses.As head of this band of electronic robin hoods, Redford as 'Marty' Bishop is tricked into stealing a piece of technology and handing it over to Bad Guys headed by "Cosmo" aka Gandhi/Ben Kingsley - And this piece of Tech can literally shout secrets over rooftops... Hence, "No More Secrets". The item in question actually deals with encryption algorithms that are still in use today.In an attempt to re-acquire this little gadget, Redford assembles his team and with the help of girlfriend Mary McDonnell, attempts to infiltrate the Marin County "fortress of solitude" of criminal Ben Kingsley.The technical and comedic situations which arise in this caper make a wholly fun and interesting film. These pranks are highly humorous and basically succeed... And some of them were not too far off the mark due to the technical assistance by one of the scientists who actually developed part of the technology which this film refers to.There are several nods and references to the films "THX-1138" by Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation", and Barry Levinson's "The Natural"... and "Three Days of the Condor".