"Hack" has been a keyword in many Hollywood headlines these days due to the recent attack on Sony Pictures, but for right now we're going to take a look at another angle on cyber terrorism. The latest trailer for Michael Mann's Blackhat has arrived online, and you can watch it below.
The first film that Michael Mann has made since 2009's Public Enemies, and based on a script the filmmaker co-wrote with newcomer Morgan Davis Foehl, Blackhat centers around the search for a mysterious but incredibly powerful cyber criminal who has been incredibly destructive and able to evade both the American and Chinese authorities. The sound logic is applied that in order to catch a hacker you need a hacker, so to help them out they make a deal with Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth), an incarcerated genius who helps trace the antagonist from Chicago to Hong Kong.
While its January release date isn't exactly auspicious, I have some high hopes for this movie. Not only is it coming out at a pretty key time, with hacking very much in the national conversation, but Michael Mann is also overdue for a really great film. From Heat to The Insider to Collateral, the guy has proven time and time again that he is one of Hollywood's most gifted filmmakers. Public Enemies and Miami Vice didn't live up to our expectations from him, but there is high potential here.
Blackhat will be making its way to theaters in the first few weeks of 2015 - and setting up what very well may end being a very big year for Chris Hemsworth. Beyond Blackhat, he has the starring role in Ron Howard's adaptation of In The Heart of the Sea, and he will be following that up with Joss Whedon and Marvel Studios' insanely anticipated The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Even after that the Australian A-lister won't be done, as he is also said to have a role in John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein's Vacation reboot, and will also be getting into production on The Huntsman - the 2016 spin-off from Snow White and the Huntsman. After that there's another Marvel Studios film around the corner, as Thor: Ragnarok is scheduled to be released in 2017, but if 2015 really proves to be the Year of Hemsworth, then we may soon start seeing him sign on for a lot more new projects.
Supported by an international cast, Chris Hemsworth is joined in Blackhat by Academy Award nominee Viola Davis as well as Tang Wei and Wang Leehom, both of whom previously starred in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution in 2007. The cyber terrorism thriller will be released by Universal and Legendary Pictures on January 16, 2015 - are you planning on buying a ticket?
