18. Sneakers

It’s hard to believe, but most people had never even heard the word “internet” when Phil Alden Robinson’s techno-thriller Sneakers was released in the fall of 1992, a time when that most revolutionary of computer advancements was still a few years away from being commonplace to society. Despite the fact that the movie is dated in that sense, it remains an entertaining -- and surprisingly relevant -- piece of work. It’s hard to go wrong with a cast that includes Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, and the late River Phoenix as security experts (i.e. hackers) blackmailed by the government into retrieving a special box that can be used to infiltrate any computer system. Ben Kingsley also appears, superbly playing the morally clouded bad guy with some very specific ideas about how the box can best be used.

What makes Sneakers such a great movie is that it’s more ambitious than it appears on the surface. The screenplay explores the moral issues of technology: Is it wrong to steal something that really only exists inside a computer? Can technology be used as society’s “great equalizer,” or is just another tool to keep power in the hands of the already powerful? Can we really trust all these new high-tech innovations? The rise of the internet (and internet-related crime) has inspired numerous high-tech thrillers, such as Hackers, The Net, Virtuosity, FeardotCom and more. None of them have the resonance of Sneakers, though. It manages to convey a genuine sense of paranoia while still being intelligent, exciting, and massively fun to watch. (Mike McGranaghan)