Sneakers (DVD)

...become a bit dated, but Sneakers hasn't. The reason for this is the plot, which some times a bit unbelievable, is still as thrilling today as it was back in the early 90's. Another bonus of the film is the number of stars that appear in it, there must have been a huge budget for the cast's salaries. With such an all star cast, it is quite surprising that Sneakers never really got the critical acclaim it deserves.

The main character ...
...mean to be sexist in anyway, but Sneakers does have 2 actors which have melted many generations of women's hearts in the guises of Robert Redford and River Phoenix.

Sneakers is available on Amazon at the bargain price of £4.97 which is a great price.
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Martin Bishop (Robert Redford) is in charge of a group of electronics experts who have skills in hacking and surveillance. They make a legitimate living by getting paid to test the security systems of multi-million dollar businesses. But when two government agents show up, Martin's dubious past catches up with him and he has a choice of being arrested or helping them to steal a mysterious device.

Martin and his team agree to do the job for the agents, and everything is going to plan until they discover what the mysterious device is and the consequences that could arise from it falling into the wrong hands.

This is a very enjoyable thriller, which is fun and energetic and has some excellent moments of tension. Filmed back in 1991 (released 1992), there are some great references to how America and Russia were learning to deal with each other after the end of the Cold War. You would expect for a film made in 1992, and which deals with computers and hacking, to have become a bit dated, but Sneakers hasn't. The reason for this is the plot, which some times a bit unbelievable, is still as thrilling today as it was back in the early 90's. Another bonus of the film is the number of stars that appear in it, there must have been a huge budget for the cast's salaries. With such an all star cast, it is quite surprising that Sneakers never really got the critical acclaim it deserves.

The main character in this film is Martin Bishop, played by Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid). Martin is the head of the group of security experts who has a very dubious background. This is a good performance by Redford as he plays the part of the head of the hackers with relative ease. Part of the reason for this is he doesn't spout any technical babble which wouldn't have seemed right coming from him. His second in command is Donald Crease played by Sidney Poitier (Guess Who's Coming To Dinner), an ex CIA agent who lost his job due to dubious activities. Poitier is magnificent as Crease, as he demonstrates a very cautious approach to everything, whilst the rest of the team are more care free. Probably my favourite character in the film is Erwin 'Whistler' Emory, played by David Strathairn (A League of Their Own), a blind phone tapping expert. Whistler really does see with his ears as clearly demonstrated in some of the very clever scenes, he also has a penchant for reading the Braille version of Playboy. The funniest character is Mother played by Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters) who believes everything is a conspiracy, he brings so much humour to the film as he explains his conspiracy theories. Finally you have Carl Arbegast played by River Phoenix (Stand by Me), a young computer hacker who is not your typical computer nerd (No offence to all you hackers out there), basically he is too good looking to be a computer nerd. There is also great supporting performance from Mary McDonnell (Independence Day) and Ben Kingsley (Gandhi). All the cast, both main and supporting, put in brilliant performances, and I believe that you can see that they enjoyed themselves making this film. I would imagine there was quite a few out takes as they took the Mickey out of each other.

The film was directed by Phil Alden Robinson who previously directed "Field of Dreams". Robinson has made a very good job of what I would class a fun thriller. He has kept the pace of the film moving at a very decent pace and allowed the story, which he wrote with Lawrence Lasker (Wargames), to evolve and keep you engrossed. The whole film has its fair share of twists and turns and some very good moments of tension which keeps you gripped. But it also has its fair share of subtle humour which is provided by all the main stars allowing for a very balanced film. The location of the film is San Francisco which allows for some very beautiful camera shots and provides a lovely backdrop for the thriller. The sound track for the film is quite jazzy and surprisingly works pretty well at setting the mood and creating tension. It was created by James Horner who later went onto create the sound tracks for Braveheart, Titanic and A Beautiful Mind to name just a few.

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The Cast
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Robert Redford .... Martin Bishop
Sidney Poitier .... Donald Crease
David Strathairn .... Erwin 'Whistler' Emory
Dan Aykroyd .... Mother
River Phoenix .... Carl Arbegast
Mary McDonnell .... Liz
Stephen Tobolowsky .... Dr. Werner Brandes
Timothy Busfield .... Dick Gordon
James Earl Jones .... Bernard Abbott, NSA

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Technical Details
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Certificate: 15
Length: 126 mins

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The Message & Christian View Point
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The film is basically saying that in the world today, there is no one you can really trust, even the good guy's end up being bad guys. So what do you do, do you live your life never trusting anyone or is there some scientific formula that will tell you which people you can trust. Of course there's not, and of course 99% of the population do trust their friends and families. They have a belief that does not rest on scientific evidence that they can trust their friends, it rests on feelings, gut instincts. This is exactly the same as a Christian's faith, which does not need scientific proof but relies on a belief in God.

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Conclusion & Rating
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This is a very good film which is a pleasant mixture of humour and thriller. The storyline is very reasonable although it does loose it towards the end of the film. The performances are excellent and provide plenty of humour. All in all a very good film which I honestly believe has not been matched by similar films such as "Hackers" and "Swordfish". If you enjoy films which are thrillers but with a light hearted approach you will definitely enjoy this, it is if they took the original hacker films "Wargames" and updated it. Don't be put off by the thought that this is a techie type film as the enjoyment in this film is the performances and the thrilling plot. Of course, and I don't mean to be sexist in anyway, but Sneakers does have 2 actors which have melted many generations of women's hearts in the guises of Robert Redford and River Phoenix.

Sneakers is available on Amazon at the bargain price of £4.97 which is a great price.
 

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