The Net (1995)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Angela Bennett	Sandra Bullock	½
Jack Devlin	Jeremy Northam	½
Dr. Alan Champion	Dennis Miller	½
Mrs. Bennett	Diane Baker	-
Dale	Ray McKinnon	-
Imposter	Wendy Gazelle	-

Review

A thriller based on the premise that a novel invention called the internet can make it possible for baddies to take complete control of your life – and even wipe it out. Despite its sophomoric ways of visualizing these online perils, The Net definitely has its fair share of good points, even seen today, 25 years later. The reason it still doesn't quite work hasn't really got that much to do with the filmmakers' hit-or-miss fiddling with the technological aspects of the story, but rather that the bad guys – mainly represented by British actor Jeremy Northam – are so very Hollywoodish in everything they say and do. The Net is genre-bound to excess, and this holds it back and puts it into an ephemeral 1990s thriller tradition which hasn't stood the test of time all that well. John Badham's WarGames, another early look at the predicted dangers of online computers, holds up better. Still, Sandra Bullock's industrious, sympathetic performance may keep you watching until the end.