I just watched it for the first time tonight, what a fantastic movie. For me the subplots were more interesting than the chase...Originally Posted by 43Under
I just watched it for the first time tonight, what a fantastic movie. For me the subplots were more interesting than the chase...
I finally had a chance to watch "Blackhat"; I didn't even know it was a Michael Mann movie, never mind that it was a movie in the first placeAdmittedly around when it came out my only mass consumption inputs were morning AM radio on the way to work, CNBC on tv all day at work, evening FM on the way home since I was all-day-newsed out by that point, and then internet at home...so maybe I somehow missed the ads for it. Not a TV watcher.
Anyway...it's a master class in Michael Mann, that film - lots of good composition shots, lighting, the hand-moved cameras around...it's really easy to get immersed in the scenes like you're actually there and a fly on the wall. If anyone wanted a summation of "Why a Michael Mann movie is considered S-tier", that movie is a compilation of all the best bits that he's been known to do. Miami Vice was another one in the same vein.
It's just too bad that it's not a good movie by itselfThe storyline was meh, whomever he hired as the IT-world technical consultant was very much "give them big buzzwords and three letter acronyms; everyone loves that" with some super dumb mistakes in it (compiled binaries don't have comments, as mentioned earlier, and that's just the easiest one to explain to non-computer people)...it wasn't a story I cared about, nor the characters in it. Just a really hard sell and the IT mistakes in it didn't help. The technical work and heavy lifting of the process and business of making a film was superb but the storyline and script were phoned in, imo.
I guess, not every movie can be perfect..
Agreed. As a professional nerd-herder, I was never able to finish watching that movie. The phrase "Sucked so hard I got a bruise" leaps to mind.I finally had a chance to watch "Blackhat"; I didn't even know it was a Michael Mann movie, never mind that it was a movie in the first place
Anyway...it's a master class in Michael Mann, that film - lots of good composition shots, lighting, the hand-moved cameras around...it's really easy to get immersed in the scenes like you're actually there and a fly on the wall. If anyone wanted a summation of "Why a Michael Mann movie is considered S-tier", that movie is a compilation of all the best bits that he's been known to do. Miami Vice was another one in the same vein.
It's just too bad that it's not a good movie by itself
I guess, not every movie can be perfect..
It's like asking a Marine to watch "Heartbreak Ridge" and give positive reviews.
Which I also could not do.
I liked Heartbreak Ridge but I saw it more as an action comedy than a documentary...plus, I couldn't/can't serve, so I never had that level of insight either
The ending of Blackhat was...decidedly low-tech, I guess? It was kind of anti-climatic, and then left me with even more questions and just general dissatisfaction (if you were trying to disappear, as an anglo...would you choose deep in surveillance state Asia to do it?)
Hopefully his next work is a little more complete...
I did like the subway ambush scene where the FBI guy is really bearing down on the front sight of that 1911. He really sold the cold, deliberate gunfighter thing.I finally had a chance to watch "Blackhat"; I didn't even know it was a Michael Mann movie, never mind that it was a movie in the first place
Anyway...it's a master class in Michael Mann, that film - lots of good composition shots, lighting, the hand-moved cameras around...it's really easy to get immersed in the scenes like you're actually there and a fly on the wall. If anyone wanted a summation of "Why a Michael Mann movie is considered S-tier", that movie is a compilation of all the best bits that he's been known to do. Miami Vice was another one in the same vein.
It's just too bad that it's not a good movie by itself
I guess, not every movie can be perfect..
I mean, come on man, how can you not like this?
Sure, the movie kind of sucks hard, but it's got some fun moments. I'll admit, though, it bugs the shit out of me that the amphibious assault ship with a big ass 2 on the side was not the Saipan since I happen to have been on the Saipan when we got sent from Gitmo to Grenada.
Better Call Saul gives me hope that they might be able to pull Heat 2 off.
Blackhat was a disappointing mish-mash. Mann has an obsession with prison (he filmed The Jericho Mile at Folsom prison, using inmates as extras) which surfaces in many of his films, but in Blackhat it was misplaced. Maybe he was trying to make some kind of poignant artistic statement by concluding a high tech cat and mouse game among hackers with a shiv fight between guys wearing phonebook armor...but it just didn't work. Wonderful 1911 work though.
It's interesting to see how Mann's 2006 Miami Vice, which was largely panned when it came out, has seemingly found a cult following. Personally I credit that to a younger generation who has discovered the movie without the baggage of the television series.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
I finished Heat 2 this evening.
It was good. Not great, but enjoyable. I was skeptical and cautious going in, but soon I found myself pulled into the book. The writing flows, though sometimes you can tell that the work is a collaboration between two authors. Chris' character arc is intriguing. The settings are interesting. The appearance of familiar characters never seems forced.
I'd give it a solid B. In the end, I'm not sure this was a story that needed to be told. Thankfully, reading it won't affect how I view and enjoy the original film. If they decide to make it into a movie, there's a number of memorable action set-pieces. A raid on a cartel hotel at the Mexican Border. A car chase through LA. But it lacks the depth of the movie; there's nothing close to Hanna and McCauley discussing dreams over coffee.
Perhaps a coincidence, but I see echos of Mann's past work in here. In some ways, this is a treat. A home invasion crew working Chicago seems to draw inspiration from an episode of Miami Vice (an episode that is appropriately titled, "The Home Invaders"). Heat was a Los Angeles story; Heat 2 is undeniably international. The tri-border region features prominently; I can't help but wonder if some of the scenes set there were originally intended for Mann's 2006 Miami Vice. That film was plagued with production problems, and the international ending (planned for Paraguay) was changed at the last minute to a shootout in Miami.
I'm almost certainly nitpicking here..but this is a firearms forum, so I'll mention it. There's a number of minor gun issues that make me grind my teeth and pull me out of the book. In another story I might not care, but considering the lineage of this book, and Mann's obsession with detail, I'm holding it to a higher standard.
Perhaps more significantly, there's a change to McCauley's backstory that introduces an inconsistency with the original source material. Again, surprising for Mann.
Michael, if you're reading, I'm always available to proof-read your work.
Last edited by JSGlock34; 08-12-2022 at 09:29 PM.
"When the phone rang, Parker was in the garage, killing a man."
Jack Carr’s podcast with coauthor Meg Gardiner put this book on my must read list.
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