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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Friday They got algorithm Posters about missing teen will be distributed Competition keen at first city chili cookoff Alice Hardesty shares healing memoir Education Ashland schools expand chicken pox exclusion rules Students go behind the scenes at hospital Ashland robotics team aims to build a winner AHS ranked No. 7 by Niche College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? 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Looking Up: Comet passes by the Pleiades Suzette Martinez Standring: Chance advice was eerie Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business NEWS NOW Our View: A matter of survival ... Posters about missing teen will be distributed ... Brammo bought by Polaris ... Our View: A matter of survival ... Posters about missing teen will be distributed ... Brammo bought by Polaris ... Movie review: 'Blackhat' is a frustrating 404 error Comment By Dana Barbuto The Patriot Ledger DailyTidings.com By Dana Barbuto The Patriot Ledger Posted Jan. 16, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Dana Barbuto The Patriot Ledger Posted Jan. 16, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News Underwear or malware, Chris Hemsworth wears it well. After all, he’s the reigning Sexiest Man Alive. So who better to heat up a chilling tale of cybercrime than a hunky hacker like Hemsworth? But even he can’t save “Blackhat,” the latest spam from director Michael Mann. That doesn’t mean he’s not pretty to peruse while he types computer code with the top-two — maybe three — buttons of his shirt conveniently unfastened. He sure can make spyware sexy. But looks can be deceiving. So good in the race-car drama “Rush,” Hemsworth is left hanging like a Web page that won’t load by Mann (“The Insider”), who is so busy indulging his love of pretty pictures and graphic glitz that he forgets all about story and character development. A long opening sequence begins in outer space and dives into a twisty maze-like sequence of circuits, meters, flashing numbers and green symbols. Mann lets his camera repeatedly linger on computer screens filled with impenetrable cyber-gibberish. Yawn. Is there anything more boring? What ensues is a succession of plot contrivances and expository dialogue. There’s nothing smart or suspenseful, and coming from a director like Mann — a stylist who can seduce audiences with action and images — that’s a bigger breach than the cyber attacks at the film’s core. The story, what’s there, revolves around Hemsworth’s Nick Hathaway, who is sprung from federal prison on a conditional release to join American and Chinese authorities in pursuit of an international cyber-terrorist. Fight fire with fire. The action country-hops from the United States to China to Indonesia. The crimes — a power plant explosion, stock-price manipulation and one more to be named later — make the Sony attack look like amateur hour. Mann, who co-wrote the script with newcomer Morgan Davis Foehl, gets points for being topical. But he favors style too much over substance. In so doing, he squanders the talents of Hemsworth and his two equally good co-stars: Oscar-winner Viola Davis (“The Help”), as a hard-nosed FBI agent, and Asian music star Wang Leehom as Chinese operative Chen Dawai. The beautiful Wei Tang functions as Nick’s love interest. The couple trade a lot of knowing glances but generate zero chemistry. Zilch. Mann does stir the blood with high-decibel music and imaginative gunplay. He has a talent for the noisy and the fast. Just check out his “Heat” and “Collateral.” That’s why it doesn’t matter that “Blackhat” is hard to follow, or that the dialogue is spoken so soft and fast that it becomes unintelligible. You’re deep into the next scene and you’re still trying to figure out what just transpired. But confusion is inherent of the genre. Making sense isn’t a requirement, but keeping the audience off-base and fascinated is. And, in that respect, “Blackhat” is a frustrating 404 error. Dana Barbuto may be reached at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger. “Blackhat”: R for violence and some language. Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Viola Davis, Tang Wei, Wang Leehom. Directed by Michael Mann. Grade: C+. By Dana Barbuto The Patriot Ledger DailyTidings.com By Dana Barbuto The Patriot Ledger Posted Jan. 16, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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