Taglines: Right now, you are nowhere in control.
American and Chinese agencies work together to stop a conspiracy involving a cyber criminal. With the help of Nicholas Hathaway, the authorities pursue the mysterious suspect as the dangerous search leads them from Chicago to Hong Kong.
Blackhat is an action thriller film directed, produced, and co-written by Michael Mann. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Holt McCallany, and Leehom Wang. It is set for release on January 16, 2015.
Filming began on May 17, 2013, in Los Angeles, California; Hong Kong; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Jakarta, Indonesia. Director Michael Mann donated HK$300,000 (US$38,500) to The Community Chest of Hong Kong in the name of Hang Seng Bank, to thank the bank for allowing him to film Blackhat for five evenings in the bank’s lobby area.
About the Story
At a nuclear plant in Chai Wan, Hong Kong, a hacker causes the coolant pumps to overheat and explode. Not long after in Chicago, the Mercantile Trade Exchange gets hacked, causing soy futures to rise. The Chinese government and the FBI determine that the hack was caused by a Remote Access Tool (RAT). A military officer in China’s cyber warfare unit, Captain Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang), is tasked to find the people responsible for the attacks, and enlists the aid of his sister Chen Lien (Tang Wei), a networking engineer. He meets with FBI Agent Carol Barrett (Viola Davis) in Los Angeles and reveals the code in the RAT was written by himself and Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth), his college roommate, in their school days years before Hathaway was sent to prison for an unrelated hack. Dawai asks that the FBI arrange for Hathaway to be released from prison, where he is serving a sentence for computer crimes. Hathaway is offered temporary release in exchange for his services.
A dead colleague’s computer yields a clue to a connection, so Hathaway and Lien go to the rendezvous but it is a trap set by the hacker to alert him to pursuit. Hathaway fights three men.
In Hong Kong, the team traces the stock trade money to a known paramilitary named Kassar. A stakeout team is murdered while Hathaway, Jessup, Chen, Trang along with a Special Duties Unit team raid Kassar’s hideout but once again it is a trap. A shootout ensues and Trang as well as a number of SDU officers are killed. Kassar and his men escape.
Blackhat
Directed by: Michael Mann
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Holt McCallany, Leehom Wang, William Mapother, Manny Montana, Archie Kao
Screenplay by: Morgan Davis Foehl, Michael Mann
Production Design by: Guy Hendrix Dyas
Cinematography by: Stuart Dryburgh
Film Editing by: Leo Trombetta, Joe Walker, Jeremiah O’Driscoll
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: Victor J. Zolfo
Art Direction by: Damien Drew, Luke Freeborn
Music by: Harry Gregson-Williams, Atticus Ross
MPAA Rating: R for violence and some language.
Studio: Universal Pictures
Release Date: January 16, 2015
Visits: 93
