The Net

Even when The Net goes off-line, Bullock's captivating presence is a screen saver. [28 July 1995, p.6]

This stuff is so concocted I had no business caring about it. But I did, because of Bullock.

A thoroughly conventional exercise in pop paranoia with trendy appurtenances, The Net has little to offer outside of Bullock's moderately appealing presence.

The Net entertains but is unlikely to hang around on the cerebral hard disk for too long.

That anyone manages to care remotely about what's going on despite all this is a tribute to Bullock's appeal. She remains a disarmingly winning performer, though here she's saddled with some clunky, cliched bits of behavior.

Writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris must figure the blinking lights on Angela's screen will cloud our brains. They ask us to ignore plotholes the size of craters... Nor does director Irwin Winkler shoot scenes suspensefully. [28 July 1995, p.9F]

The problem is that producer-turned-director Irwin Winkler (Night and the City, Guilty by Suspicion) simply has no idea what he's doing. I take that back. He knows what a producer ought to know: how to latch onto a hot topic and a hot star. Winkler also appears to have picked up enough from the directors he has worked with to give his film a certain second-hand slickness.

Alot of people forget about this intense little techno thriller with a fierce performance from Sandra Bullock (Speed). She stars as Angela Bennett a young woman whose a programmer and becomes entangled in a sinister computer conspiracy in which they are manipulating people's information to control the outcomes. The plot is still relevant and although the tech doesn't hold up well, the drama and thrills do. Sexy Jeremy Northam (Emma) and funnyman Dennis Miller (Bordello of Blood) also star. Director Irwin Winkler (Life as a House) executes the proceedings with an an edge of your seat, sweaty palm inducing intensity. Although it's not wholly original it's damn entertaining. Budget: $22m Domestic Box Office: $51m Worldwide Box Office: $111m 4.25/5

It was okay but it was repetitive in a way. I would get frustrated because as soon as you thought it couldnt get any worse, it would. I did like how fast paced the movie was

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This film can only be described as a product of its time. This is one of the most nineties films ever. The made-up computer science, the cast, the cinematography, the sound design, the music etc is all so nineties. This is highly flawed but it is entertaining! It’s hard not to compare it to Speed (1994) because of Sandra Bullock but the action and script are vastly inferior. The issues stem so much from the time it was made, the action is not well choreographed or shot. The effects are basic and unconvincing. The pace is slow. The dialogue is pretty awful. It feels like it really wants to be The Fugitive (1993) but fails on every level. It probably has more in common with Beverly Hills Cop (1984) but without the ‘comedy’. Overall it is worth watching for those that enjoy taking themselves back to the past.

The Net is a typical thriller of the 90s. The name of the film and the plot are deceptive, one of the most delusional and unrealistic films about both hackers and IT. The Net is one of the most romanticised tester stories in a film matographer. At the same time, The Net itself is clearly not the most exciting thriller, there is almost no suspense, the dynamics of the film is very sagging and the action of what is happening is delayed. The plot itself rests on some fictional rules that do not reflect reality. In the 90s, everything is already so computerized that nothing is stored on paper. And the whole plot is saturated with such artificial restrictions. Because of this, the thriller turns into a sitcom of absurdity. And of course I was killed in the weak acting of Sandra Bullock, she plays a lot better in secondary roles.