Algorithm (2014) Reviews

• Avoid (Even if you're curious)

  komradekontroll2016-02-29

  I discovered this "gem" late one night on youtube and thought I'd give it a try. I'm a fan of hacker related movies, so I thought that there could be something here... Well from the very first frame I realized this was just going to be a waste of time. I'm not even sure where to start. The acting, the direction, the boring characters and story... I mean I thought Insecurity (2007) had a number of issues, but at least it was enjoyable. Any argument I've seen for why this movie is good is laughable. "It's not a movie, IT'S A WAY OF LIFE!" K bud.. I could pick it apart piece-by-piece, but trust me when I say this is a waste of time.

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• That's not entertainment.

  mrtomblake2015-08-26

  For me Algorithm gets two stars for effort. They got it made. However the problems begin from the very first scene. An interrogation scene like all other interrogation scenes. Containing exhausted lines of dialogue, and the clichéd good cop bad cop routine. It never really recovers from there. The main character is arrogant, and acts superior to others. He is proud that he has an almost empty life. In any other film he would be a loser. Sadly in this film he's supposed to be the hero. He provides endless exposition through voice over. I wrongly assumed it would stop in the opening act. Unfortunately the voice over is constant throughout. This reminded me of Robert McKee's rant from the film Adaptation. Voice over is sloppy writing. Algorithm feels like a film where the director is challenging the audience not to like it. It has a repetitive humdrum music score. The beat stays the same even when the steaks have been raised. The cinematography is bland, with boring beige colours and limited use of light. The director would rather the audience engage with the issues the film raises rather than making something entertaining. The problem with this philosophy is that many mainstream films can do both. Algorithm is a Bourne Identity film with all the fun sucked out of it. Just because it's possible to watch it on-line for free, doesn't mean you should.

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• Absolutely Terrible

  webwiz-244-1480312015-02-20

  I'm a technogeek, computer nerd, and lover of techno thrillers. So I understood the themes and message of this film. But it was done so poorly that I don't know if I'm just disappointed or confused as to why the movie was even released. About 30 minutes in, I started wondering if it was actually a cheesy parody of a "hacker" film. The dialog is poorly written and delivered with some of the worst acting I've ever seen. I felt like I was watching the product of a high school introductory film class. The cinematography showed promise with some beautiful shots, but then degraded into very questionable angles and layouts. There's a scene where we get to stare at the back of the head of the main character for an oddly long period of time. I wondered why the director didn't have the cameraman just swing around to his front. There were almost believable technical aspects of some scenes, but for a "hacker" movie with its overriding theme of "the NSA is watching everything", some of the technology in play should have been focused on more. In light of the Snowden revelations, and some other stuff that was later revealed to have gone on in the past decade or two, the premise of this film could have resulted in a great product. It's really a shame that the movie was so badly written, poorly acted, and shot so oddly.

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• The worst hacker movie I have ever had the misfortune to watch.

  edgalarza2016-03-22

  This film is just plain awful. It has Horrendous acting and a weak storyline with little real world techie details. Amateurish camera work. Plot holes bigger than a Kardashian's loose vayaya. The first 30 minutes is a hacker's nonsense bragging drivel. There doesn't seem to be a honest attempt at delivery a story. The actors perform their dialog as though they were being read from cue cards. My personal feeling is they began improvising a script as they went along instead of having one carefully written before they began writing. As others here have said, you will be better off choosing a different movie to watch. This film should have never been made.

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• worth viewing

  friedtj2015-04-01

  I have never reviewed a movie on IMDb.com ... but leaving a unique review of 2 stars for Algorithm was not acceptable so I had to reply ! I must be part of the 1% hackers who enjoyed the movie as at least remotely realistic, in which human interactions do define technological endeavours, in which the powerful do win against the weak, and in which those who are believed trustful should not be trusted. I believe this movie is one, maybe not universal, vision of hacker world aimed at discovering the underlying basics to technological breakthroughs. I ended up watching Algorithm after a nostalgic review of Hackers and Hackers2 (no relation between both movies), and found Algorithm a rather realistic reminder of what real life might actually be.

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