The Net Movie Review

The Net (1995)

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Written by: John Brancato & Michael Ferris
Directed by: Irwin Winkler
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller
Rated: PG-13
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Plot
When computer programmer Angela Bennett stumbles upon government secrets, she finds herself on the run from an unknown enemy hell-bent on erasing her completely.

Verdict
It's a decent thriller that's made unique by its predictions about the internet. In this, the internet and it's integration into everything is depicted as a boogeyman with the power to erase a person, and the extents seem rather quaint by today's standards. Angela stumbles upon a cyber security scam, and it's perpetrators can access any database and just erase her. Without the world wide web foundation to the story this becomes typical, but it's an interesting look at what the writers thought might happen and what actually happened. That alone makes this an interesting still image of the time period.
It depends.

Review
This was Bullock's second movie after her breakout hit Speed (1994).

I didn't understand how this hacker group leaves a glitch on a video game, even if accidental, and then it ends up with Angela (Sandra Bullock). Ultimately it's just a macguffin for the plot. The best I can tell is that this group hides the glitch in plain sight and somehow it was sent to her to debug by someone that didn't realize what it was. I think I spent more time trying to figure it out than the writers.

An ominous opening features a politician that seems to be involved in something bad. It's unclear, and the scene is just a setup for a reveal later.

This is surprisingly forward looking. Angela works from home, orders pizza online, and simulates a fireplace on a computer monitor. None of that was common back then. Angela debugs computer software. She ends up with video game Mozart's Ghost which is a key that grants back door access to any computer server you want, even restricted ones. She just doesn't realize what she has.

Sandra Bullock plays Angela Bennett

Angela goes on her first vacation in quite a some time, meanwhile her software contact dies and it seems to be linked to this back door. While on vacation, she's wooed by a software programmer, Devlin (Jeremy Northam), also on vacation. We realize long before she does that his purpose is nefarious. He's after that disk. You'd think the owner of this disk would keep track of it better. She gets away but loses all her identification in the process. She returns to her hotel and discovers she effectively doesn't exist. The embassy identifies her as Ruth Marx. She accepts that as she needs a travel visa to get back into the U.S. and she can't get one as Angela. When she returns home, her house is for sale. Someone posing as her has taken over her job. With a remote job, no one at work can identify her.

Here's the scary thing. This movie came out at the beginning of the dot com bubble. The internet was poised to take over, and this imagines a world that explores the dangers of internet connectivity. A bad guy can just erase you and take everything you have. Most people didn't know what it could do, so anything this movie claimed seemed plausible.

Devlin wants "the disk" but Angela doesn't know which disc. How could she as they've never stated what they want, and she doesn't know they key she possesses. She has several discs as a result of her job. The movie sought to point out how much time we spend online and how we're tracked. What's comical is that it's nothing compared to current tracking. This movie presents a boogeyman. Today it's so ubiquitous that we ignore the perils.

Angela turns to her therapist and then an online chat buddy. She still doesn't realize how powerful this group after her really is. They have access to everything electronic and are tracking her every move. Even in 1995, that was quite a bit. Her last ditch effort is an attempt to expose this group and their crimes. This security company has created a backdoor into all systems they protect. That allows the company to hack into these companies and in turn increase demand for their program.

It's a standard thriller, but the use of the internet helps this stand out. The portrayal of a connected world looks so simple which gives this a unique charm now. It's a window into what the writers thought the internet could be. Surprisingly, they got a lot right. What you can always count on is for criminals to use all available tools.