Floppy disks? Dial up modems? To name just a couple of things. I suppose one of the problems of making movies that in any way revolve around technology is that technology evolves, and what seems cutting edge can quickly start to seem old fashioned. That's certainly the case with "The Net." Sandra Bullock did a passable job as Angela Bennett - a computer analyst of some sort who basically lives on "The Net." She works from home; she never interacts with anyone apparently except through computers. The only exception seems to be her mother, but her mother has Alzheimer's and doesn't know who she is. In 1995 the chat rooms and "the best pizza in cyberspace" and sending "electronic mail" probably would have seemed cutting edge to a lot of people. Less than 20 years later (and actually long before this) it's just really, really dated technology with rather grainy computer graphics - along with the aforementioned floppy disks and dial up modems. At times it's hard to get around that and settle into this movie.
And yet, at the same time, there's a strangely prophetic feel to this as well. I mean, in 1995 somebody made a movie that revolved exclusively around issues of identity theft and cyberterrorism - both very real concerns 20 years later. Not a bad job of gazing into the crystal ball, I'd say.
Angela gets caught up in a conspiracy by a group that seems to be trying to crash pretty much every computer system going. I have to admit that the plot came across at times as a bit convoluted. I wasn't entirely clear on the goals of the cyberterrorists; what they were hoping to accomplish. But they certainly did a good job of messing with Angela's life. While on vacation she meets and falls for a mysterious man who's part of the conspiracy. The conspirators then stole her identity and gave it to one of their own; they replaced her identity with that of a woman wanted by the police for a series of felonies. Basically her entire life was wiped out and replaced by a life she knew nothing about and that put her on the run, with nowhere to go for help. That was well done, and pretty smart. Her goal, of course, is to reveal the plot and regain her life.
There's some good action; and some rather cliché "chase" scenes involved. It stretches the bounds of credibility a bit, I think, by suggesting that there's hardly a person in the entire world who could vouch for who Angela really is. She's honestly had no contact with anyone? She spends every moment of every day in her apartment on a computer? If so, why did she go on vacation in the first place? Clearly she likes getting out. And her mother was in some sort of institution, and Angela clearly visited. Maybe her mother doesn't know her, but wouldn't some staff member of the institution know who she was? And wouldn't the company that sends her the "best pizza in cyberspace" have to have someone deliver it to her? There must have been someone who had seen her.
So, credibility's lacking a little bit, and this does have a bit of a quaint, old-fashioned feel to it. But Bullock is OK, and there's enough excitement in this to keep you watching. (6/10)
And yet, at the same time, there's a strangely prophetic feel to this as well. I mean, in 1995 somebody made a movie that revolved exclusively around issues of identity theft and cyberterrorism - both very real concerns 20 years later. Not a bad job of gazing into the crystal ball, I'd say.
Angela gets caught up in a conspiracy by a group that seems to be trying to crash pretty much every computer system going. I have to admit that the plot came across at times as a bit convoluted. I wasn't entirely clear on the goals of the cyberterrorists; what they were hoping to accomplish. But they certainly did a good job of messing with Angela's life. While on vacation she meets and falls for a mysterious man who's part of the conspiracy. The conspirators then stole her identity and gave it to one of their own; they replaced her identity with that of a woman wanted by the police for a series of felonies. Basically her entire life was wiped out and replaced by a life she knew nothing about and that put her on the run, with nowhere to go for help. That was well done, and pretty smart. Her goal, of course, is to reveal the plot and regain her life.
There's some good action; and some rather cliché "chase" scenes involved. It stretches the bounds of credibility a bit, I think, by suggesting that there's hardly a person in the entire world who could vouch for who Angela really is. She's honestly had no contact with anyone? She spends every moment of every day in her apartment on a computer? If so, why did she go on vacation in the first place? Clearly she likes getting out. And her mother was in some sort of institution, and Angela clearly visited. Maybe her mother doesn't know her, but wouldn't some staff member of the institution know who she was? And wouldn't the company that sends her the "best pizza in cyberspace" have to have someone deliver it to her? There must have been someone who had seen her.
So, credibility's lacking a little bit, and this does have a bit of a quaint, old-fashioned feel to it. But Bullock is OK, and there's enough excitement in this to keep you watching. (6/10)