Is Hathaway such an unbelievable character? A quick comparison.

Just a quick repost of fact checking and comparison to some of the protagonists in other Mann films that are more appreciated by the general public (like "Last of the Mohicans" and "Heat" for instance) to feed the discussion regarding whether Nick Hathaway in "Blackhat" is that much of an unbelievable character (as a hacker of many intellectual and physical talents) and whether Blackhat's take on cyber criminality is bogus or not.


1) "Blackhat" is no more based on fiction than "The Last of the Mohicans" is.
Mohicans is based on a fiction novel by James Fennimore Cooper. Blackhat is based on the 2010 attack on an Iranian nuclear power plant centrifuges by the Stuxnet worm, and on a real 7 foot bodybuilder hacker who did 2 years in jail for cyber crimes (Stephen Watt: http://www.wired.com/2013/04/stephen-watt-stalked-by-past/).


2) Blackhat's take on cyber-terrorism was shown to silicon valley security experts and all agreed to say it was the most realistic depiction of hacking in cinema, even calling it "the best hacking movie ever made".
(see http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/15/01/17/1723209/silicon-valley-security-experts-give-blackhat-a-thumbs-up-do-you and http://www.wired.com/2015/01/blackhat-the-best-cyber-movie/).


3) Everybody complains that Hathaway in Blackhat is too good with weapons for a hacker. Let's compare things and ratios:

- The shootout in Heat is 3 guys (McCauley, Shiherlis and Cheritto) against at the very least 15 guys with professional training and gear (Vincent's crew of 5 guys in bullet proof vests, plus I count at least 5 patrol cars with 2 cops in each). The opponent ratio here is 1 to 5.

- In The Last of the Mohican's finale, Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas fight against exactly 15 guys. Again a 1 to 5 ratio. At some point Hawkeye even shoots two guys at the same time with two long 18th century fuse muskets (one in each hand!)

- In Blackhat's final shootout Nick Hathaway goes against 4 hired goons and only shoots two of them (kills the other two with a screw driver). Ratio of 1 to 4.

If Heat and Mohicans seemed believable, surely Blackhat qualifies too. Especially considering Hathaway learned his tricks the same way McCauley, Shiherlis and Cheritto did: gladiator academy.


Now let's compare the characters from all three films:

- Natty "Hawkeye" Bumppo from Mohicans:
Is an almost supernaturally good marksman (again, the two muskets thing...).
Is very good at hand-to-hand, knife-to-knife, axe-to-axe (you see where this is going...) combat.
Is in good shape.
Is the child of white parents who grew up among Delaware Indians and was educated by Moravian Christians (how's that for exceptional background?).

- Neil McCauley from Heat:
Has the technical knowledge of a mechanical engineer (that's 4 years of college...).
Is in terrific shape (see the scene where he gets out of bed after sleeping with Eady).
Is an excellent marksman, proficient with both handguns (Weaver stance + Mozambique trick with both Van Zant and Waingro) and assault rifles.
Is very good at hand-to-hand combat (see how he neutralizes a professional police inspector supposed to ensure Waingro's safety).

- Nick Hathaway from Blackhat:
Is an MIT dropout.
Is handsome.
Has good hacking skills.
Is good at hand-to-hand combat, but only fights thugs in a bar with chairs and tables, and at the end one guy (Kassar) who is more accustomed to gun fights and a fat hacker (the very same stereotype mentioned several times on these boards by the way, so the film also includes that world view too in the end and not *all* hackers are fit handsome young men in Blackhat).
Is in terrific shape.
Is at best very average with a gun (improper shooting stance, shoots with one hand, only kills two guys at the end, misses them several times and is shot twice himself).

Hathaway is therefore no more exceptional than McCauley of Hawkeye were (or Frank in Thief, Graham in Manhunter, Ali in the eponymous film, etc. for that matter).


As a side-note:
Although Mohicans was a commercial and critical success in its time, Heat was a different story, but movie goers have short memories and often only shout genius long after it was bold to do so (in the case of Heat, more than 15 years after its release).

Here's an extract of the New York Time's review of Heat in 1995 (full review here: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C05E0DD1739F936A25751C1A963958260):

"Three hours is a long time. It's long enough to shape a "Godfather"-caliber crime story, or long enough for an overly polished veneer to wear thin. And as "Heat" progresses, its sensational looks pale beside storytelling weaknesses that expose the more soulless aspects of this cat-and-mouse crime tale. Extraordinary actors, clever settings, a maze of a plot and a screenplay with nearly 70 speaking roles don't change the fact that "Heat" is fundamentally hollow and its characters haven't much to say."

"Mr. Mann does little to improve upon them with an overdose of moody romance."

""Heat" creates a hugely complicated web of relationships, though they only occasionally create the illusion of depth."


For films as complicated and polished as Mann's, a certain amount of time must pass and a certain amount of critical thinking must be undertaken in order to appreciate them for what they really are. This work is also starting to bear fruits for Miami Vice which was largely reviled in 2006 but is now starting to be considered an avant-garde masterpiece 10 years later (see J.B. Thoret's fascinating in-depth analysis here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430357/board/thread/238358971?d=248741016#248741016).

For Blackhat, just wait and see. Mann is the same detail obsessed genius he was 20 years ago and at least the same amount of research as in Thief, Heat or Insider went into Blackhat.