old.cbuzz.co.uk cBuzz Films - The Net

The Net

Certificate 12

running time 1hr 50 mins

Director Irwin Winkler

To be brutally honest I didn't really have high expectations of The Net, but felt obliged and a little curious to investigate what all the hype was about. Firstly it must be pointed out that I appreciate this is Hollywood's attempt to cash in on the current topical interest surrounding the Internet.

The Net features the talents and great looks of Sandra Bullock as Angela Bennett, an individualistic and dedicated cracker of computer viruses working remotely from her employers base by means of the Internet and Federal Express. She is regarded as one of the best in her field and this may or may not be due to the fact that she is ably assisted by a fine range of Apple Macintosh's - or is that just good product placement?

Encountering a particularly intriguing virus she is swept into a world of suspense and intrigue that loses it's direction in terms of credibilty. Whilst believable that such anarcho-internet-terrorists could wreak such havoc as they do on Angela's identity and existence in terms of digitally-stored information, the Hollywood attempts in this film to build a credible thriller atmosphere could have been improved with a little bit of judicious editing.

The opening scenes of The Net left me with a desire to be sitting in front of my computer and for pseudo-computer anoraks like me (and especially the fully-fledged versions) you'll definitely enjoy many aspects of this film. Give it a go. (JT)