Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

david-sarkies I like this movie as it is about people getting into places where they are not supposed to. It begins with two friends breaking into secure computer systems and transferring funds to other organisations, but they are found out: one, Cosmo (Ben Kingsley) is arrested and the other, Martin Bishop (Robert Redford) escapes. The movie then moves into the present to where Bishop has become a man who breaks into corporations to test their security system.The movie focuses on a security team who are blackmailed into stealing a black box which turns out to be a code breaker. The team consists of Donald Crease (Sidney Poitier) who is an ex-CIA agent, "Mother" (Dan Akroyd) who seems to love his conspiracy theories, Whistler (David Strathairn), a blind computer programmer, Carl Arborgast (River Pheonix), a kid who is brilliant at hacking, and Liz (Mary McDonald) who is not really part of the team, and doesn't really want to be a part of the team, but Bishop was able to charm her into helping them out.I am not at all familiar with Robert Redford so this is the first movie that I have seen that he is in. Still, I think he is a reasonably good actor and Bishop was reasonably good character. Bishop is not unique though because he is seen as an "always will win" character. Cosmo constantly refers to how Bishop always wins and really this is what the conflict is based about. It is not essentially a save the world flick, but the continuation of a quarrel between two friends.Further more, there seems to be discussion between Bishop and Cosmo about changing the world. When they were young, they were idealistic and believed they could do anything. Now that they are older, Bishop sees that you can't change anything, while Cosmo still believes he can. It also shows how lonely Cosmo really is in the position he has come to. He is powerful and he has money, but he is alone. It is not that he has a code breaker and can hack any computer in America, rather it is that he wants his friend with him.I thought all of the characters came out well, especially in the final scene where their quirky personalities really had a bit of a play with the government. The movie is fun and I enjoyed it.

HelenMary Sneakers has aged really well. Made in 1992 soon after the end of the Cold War, it offers a sensible, grown up, tense, accurate and not-improbable plot about a group of security consultants who get caught up in a mind-twisting entrapment conspiracy. They are hired to steal a 'black box' a cryptography mathematical formula hardwired into chip that makes it a cyber code-breaker. Obviously this is worth a lot to various governments and organisations and they are hunted by many, and don't know who to trust. Fun, tongue in cheek performances from Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell and James Earl Jones - quite a stellar ensemble cast - are entertaining and whilst not worthy of high acclaim and showers of awards, they are to the point and ideal. The success and overall appeal of this film is the story, the believability and it's lighthearted take on a serious matter. There is action, fun, technology and gadgets used in inventive and intriguing ways, and there's lots of humour. It's the kind of film you can watch again and again, and I have, and I still feel that I don't know it all. The plot is complex and it was quite a few viewings before I had a handle on it as the film doesn't spoon feed the viewer and lots of questions are deliberately left unanswered to add to suspense. The characters are funny, almost anonymous, they aren't multi-dimensional deep with convoluted back stories and tales to tell, but they are all clearly drawn and a little caricatured. There's some great one-liners, some politics and idealism and also loyalty, friendship and love. It's got everything, but without resorting to gratuitous language or violence or obscenity to get the point across, which is a breath of fresh air. It uses intelligence and intrigue, with adult characters (these films are usually college age and is simply a fantastic piece of cinema. I recommend anyone sees it, and it's one that really does stand up to repeated watching, and you'd never know it was over twenty years old as it's still relevant and pertinent today as ultimate codebreakers for hackers are still the holy grail of governments, mega-corporations, organised crime, terrorists, conspiracists and freedom fighters the world over.

Tweekums In 1969 Marty Brice and his Friend Cosmo use their university computer to access various organisations bank accounts and give some of their money away; they thought they couldn't be traced but they were wrong; while Marty was out getting pizza Cosmo was arrested and sent to prison. In 1992 Marty is now known as Martin Bishop and he runs a security firm; they get hired by organisations to break in to test their systems. Everything is going fine until one day he is approached by two men claiming to be from the NSA; they want him to acquire a 'black box' from a mathematician whose speciality is cryptography. At first he declines saying he doesn't work for the government but when it becomes apparent that they know who he really is he has no choice as he is still wanted for his little prank all those years ago. They manage to get the box without too much difficulty; that is only the start of their problems though; they discover that is contains a chip that will enable them to bypass any encryption system; it is the sort of device that people and governments would kill for. Knowing this they are quite keen to pass it on to the NSA and forget all about it but once they hand it over it becomes apparent that the people who hired them weren't NSA and now they want to get rid of Martin. If he and his team want to live and not go to gaol they will have to find where the box is now and steal it for a second time... this time it will be much more dangerous though!This is a good light hearted thriller; the story has enough twists and turns without getting overly complex and there are sufficient tense moments as well as a decent number of laughs. The gadget itself is pure science fiction of course but that doesn't matter; it is just something they must get there hands on... twice. The twists aren't the most unexpected; I doubt many people will be surprised when it turns out the people who hired Martin weren't really from the NSA nor will it surprise many people to discover who is behind it all. There is a solid cast led by Robert Redford and featuring the likes of Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Dan Aykroyd and Ben Kingsley. Redford is good as Martin and Aykroyd provides most of the laughs as the conspiracy nut known as 'Mother'. This might not by the hardest hitting of thrillers but it is great if you want a good story to pass the time.

Chase_Witherspoon Lightweight but reasonably entertaining espionage movie that occasionally turns dark, concerning a group of computer boffins who inadvertently discover a hacked microchip containing top secret codes to critical public utilities with the potential to be catastrophic in the wrong hands. Naturally, the code-breaking programme does fall into the wrong hands (Kingsley) after Redford mistakenly hands it over to shady characters he believed were NSA agents. The tale then focuses on their attempts to recover the programme held under tight security.Redford is typically watchable and he receives good support from Poitier, Phoenix, Aykroyd, McDonnell etc as the good guys (and token girl). James Earl Jones makes a late cameo as an FBI boss attempting to secure the safe return of the codebreaking programme in a scene that it must be said, descends into virtual farce. It's often difficult to gauge the tone of "Sneakers" - one minute there's a bloody execution, the next, characters drop half-baked one-liners and deliberately esoteric computer speak aimed at laughs. The tone of "Sneakers" reminded me of "Stakeout" in its unorthodox blend of light humour and sometimes violent undertones.Still, despite its flaws and epic two-hour duration, the diverse cast holds interest and the code-breaking, hacking computer intrigue can always generate suspense for viewers with a technical bent. The appearance of River Phoenix might also be a pulley for some viewers, in one of his few adult roles before his untimely death a year later.