Hardwired

Shame. I thought that Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr. together in this had some real potential. I mean, while Kilmer has done some average movies recently, he's done some reasonable stuff too. I didn't mind XIII and thought Felon was okay, Conspiracy - not so good. Hardwired, however. Oh dear..... The "lab rat's" head that explodes in the first couple of minutes had terrible effects. I mean, if your going to try and grab your audience by the throat from the very start make the start good. I liked the "avatar" program, the first one anyway. While it's betrayal of CGJ was a bit predictable I still liked the way it played out. My pet hate for the "cyber" genre was here in abundance too....(sigh) 'Hollywood Hackers' - you know the ones, they are such incredible computer geniuses that they can hit the same 8 keyboard keys continuously, (really fast though, that's important) without hitting return (except when necessary for dramatic effect) and basically take control of anything from security cameras to satellites..... I did watch it all the way through and just at the end got the slightly disturbing feeling this could have been a setup for a series. Please, tell me it isn't so.

I watched this last night and I have to say I was hugely disappointed. When I saw it had Cuba Gooding Jr and Val Kilmer in, I was quite excited but they must've done this for something to do. The actual premise of the movie is a good one and some bits do work but, for the most part, it falls short of all it's aims. For starters the acting is awful, god awful. The plot is all over the place. Continuity is hilarious is some parts For instance Cuba Goodings character has been in an accident, lost his memory and is seeing things, gets told to go in a white van and then trust these weirdos. Two minutes later after they have shown him some of his past, he suddenly get enraged, joins their cause and starts commanding others whilst going on a mission to kill people and gain revenge. Oh and he is a master of martial arts and such....It just wasn't believable. Val Kilmers character looked completely wooden and he just ended up irritating me by the end of it. At one point he was acting like a kid in a school play. As for the boy and Girl team and the main hacker (Keyboard) well, lets just say they must have done it for the experience because they no way would've been paid for their parts. The boy and girl would tap away on their keyboards like pro hackers when actually it looked as though they were flapping their hands against them. At least they could've tried to look as though they were using a keyboard. The main hacker (Keyboard is his name) looked ridiculous as a cripple in a bed hacking away. It didn't look real at all. Terrible. Special effects were OK but you could tell they were done to try and amaze instead of just to blend in with the movie. Overall, hugely disappointed in Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr. I like them both as actors and Val has done some great stuff recently but this was woeful. The main thing that annoyed me was the the street scenes. Films can either be shot in real street or in those pretend streets in film lots, with the obligatory drain steaming away. You could tell it was all false and tacky. The reason this was the main thing that annoyed me was, it was pretty much featured in the first 5 minutes and that set the platform for the movie, for me. Shame, such a shame.

Not too long ago, I wrote that Cuba Gooding Jr. simply didn't seem to care anymore, after appearing in one awful direct-to-video movie after another. And seeing him paired with the equally washed-up Val Kilmer, I didn't have high hopes for this movie. But after seeing the decent "Wrong Turn At Tahoe" and this movie, maybe things are turning around for Gooding. Don't get me wrong - this isn't a GREAT movie. The script, for one thing, is derived from a number of past movies like "Total Recall" (which co-star Michael Ironside also appeared in). But it is competently done for what it is. The production values are pretty strong for a direct-to-video movie, Gooding is adequate in his role, and the script, while derivative, does try for a little mystery and a few original touches. No, it isn't a movie to seek out, but if it comes across on TV it will do the job. Note to Val Kilmer fans: It's pretty obvious that he filmed all his (limited) scenes in two days at the most.

I just watched this great movie, and really cannot understand the 4.7 rating. Please do not take any of the bad reviews serious. The people who wrote these reviews probably have a problem swallowing good quality food also, because they are used to junk food. This original and exciting sci-fi action-thriller should at least have a rating of 7, so i gave it a 10. The movie portrays a scary future, where dark forces take partial control of human beings minds by means of chip implants. A future, that actually might not be that far away from us. Apart from being very entertaining and full of suspense, keeping my attention all of the time, this movie has an important message to all of us. It shows the horrible reality of a world where evil people that are driven by greed, take control of our minds. The theme is nicely worked out. The acting might not be top-notch, but overall, it is good enough. Cuba Gooding Jr. performs alright, but Val Kilmer is rather disappointing and unconvincing. Luckily, his role is very limited. The camera work, and visual effects are nice and the script is OK. Certainly a movie not to miss!

The plot: After being involved in a nasty car crash, a man receives an experimental implant, courtesy of an omnipresent, multinational corporation. Hardwired is a throwback to the low budget cyberpunk movie boom of the early 90s. With former A-list stars, an interesting (though not quite original) premise, and lots of action scenes, you'd think that this movie would have lots of promise. One could even be forgiven for thinking that it'd even be good. Unfortunately, it's so cheesy, predictable, low budget, and comically inept that you can't help but laugh. Despite all of its ridiculous problems, it's so earnest and enthusiastic that I can't bring myself to hate it. It's an enjoyable mess of a movie, as long as you're not expecting something intellectual and artistic. Amidst all the cheesiness, there were some things that worked well, and I have to admit that I'm tiny bit disappointed that there isn't a sequel. I would have loved to see Lance Henricksen play the evil megalomaniac. I guess we'll never know how the story ends, though it's probably for the best that we're not inflicted with an even more clichéd followup. If you're a fan of low budget B movies, it can't hurt too much to give Hardwired a try.

I agree with the previous comments, nothing to come for in this movie. The plot, guy has accident, get's chip in head, hunts bad guy, has been seen so many times before. The acting is really bad, and the only reason I don't rate this movie with 1 star, is because of Punk Red, who looks kind'a cute. Most of all, it seems like the director heard of Augmented Reality a year ago, and decided to show it in a movie. If only the effects were good, but they are not. The Pacman look-a-like labyrinths, really poor infrared camera effect, and the rest of the AR-effects, just doesn't cut it in 2009. Better effects is seen on modern cellphones :)

a very poor imitation of matrix and/or total recall or similar SiFi movies. though the Plot is not that bad , it is dragging too far, action is OK, acting in Cuba Gooding part and Ironside is good,Val Kilmer looks goofy though, other actors not very promising. The sound track of the movie is annoying and out of place, it is like an Arabic belly dancing music imported right out from Cairo. by far the worst part of the movie is its sound track. at the end the score is kind of Indian drum combo with an Indian singer crying along very sadly. all together it is a 'watchable movie.

The best review I can give for this movie is "mildly entertaining". Even at that, most of the entertainment comes from the embarrassing special effects and flaws that continuously crop up throughout the film. When I watched this movie, I thought it was made in the early 90's. To think it was produced in 2009 is nearly unbelievable- I think I've seen Youtube videos more impressive. Bullet impacts were star bursts; in one scene a van is hit with bullets multiple times without a single bullet hole. At several times story flaws were so bad I felt an urge to punch a gaping hole in my TV. In a shooting scene, the main character "Luke" is in an industrial room with SWAT-like enemies closing in. One of them had his gun aimed right at his head when the lights cut out. For some reason, this means that he was incapable of shooting, and literally walked in the opposite direction to find Luke. Mind you, he was previously standing DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM. The pain doesn't stop there as Luke pretends to occasionally randomly feel out in front of him as if he can't see. Even though the main lights were cut, the room was still clearly lit. This wasn't the only moment I had to wonder whether the director expected me to assume that, despite what the movie shows, the scenes are much different than what they appear. I'm no fancy Hollywood director but I don't think it's that difficult to make a room dark. In fact I can do it at any moment with an amazing invention called "actually turning the lights off". If you are considering watching this movie, you can feel what it's like right now: Simply ball your hand into a fist then punch yourself in the face repeatedly.

I like scifi movies and have a soft spot for near-future stuff that isn't way out there but actually still relates to, and builds on, our contemporary "world". That is the strength of this movie - it is a computergame-influenced action set in a near-future world where corporations are powerful and personal integrity is - well - expendable in exchange for increased profit... The weakness of this movie is the computergame-storyline which is rather "straightforward" (and a bit predictable). Occasionally this movie feels like a computergame-trailer, or a movie launched to promote that game. Somewhat stiff acting from both Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr - they both seem a bit at unease in this movie somehow - is another drawback, but that's only considering what they can perform when more inspired I suppose. Overall the acting in the movie is quite good. All and all this was a pretty good action/scifi movie! The scifi in this movie is credible, and as in any good scifi-movie the "world" and the issues/ideas/new technology/whatever are the things driving the story forward. Add good acting, a nice budget and well shot movie and you got yourself 1½ hours of good entertainment.

This movie is awfully bad. I am a fan of sci-fi movies, and i am prepared to accept some (decent) compromises, to see a very nice idea put into a movie. Apparently this movie has all ingredients to make a decent sci-fi flick. It has the idea (which is not new, but still can be used for good plots), has the actors (Kilmer, Gooding and Ironside). The reality is completely different. The movie fails on every aspect. I will detail below: 1. Actors. The well-known actors (Kilmer, Gooding and Ironside) seem to make the worst performance in their life. They were awful. Even if the movie is on very low budget, the quality of acting has nothing to with it. I have seen lots of movies with these guys, they are very talented, i cant imagine how could they make such performance. As the other actors, their performance is like reading a newspaper. Completely bald. It even provoked lots of laughing. They were all unreal. 2. Idea/plot/Directing. The idea can be well exploited to make not only one, but many sci-fi movies. Well, in this case, the writer seemed very busy with something else. I cant explain myself otherwise, why he wasn't capable of making a fluid and coherent plot. It seems a plot written in a few days. Nothing complex, silly dialog, no character motivation. Not to speak of character development (completely missing. Completely!). Action scenes are non-realistic. I have seen Cuba Gooding in other action movies / scenes and was OK... well in this one, looked like he didn't want to play anymore, like he was bored and couldn't wait to go home. Same applies for all action scene protagonists. 3. General impression: very cheap movie, amateur bored actors, amateur writer, very busy (with something else i think) director. The impression was that the initial budget for this movie was drastically cut down, AFTER the movie making began, so all the people became upset, and they made all the job with *ruin the movie* idea (revenge) in mind. This explain actor performance, directing performance, image and scene quality. Recommendation: don't even think to watch it. Even for free. I gave it 2/10 with indulgence.