The Net (1995 film)

The Net is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Irwin Winkler[2] and starring Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam and Dennis Miller.[3] The film was released on 28 July 1995.

The Net
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIrwin Winkler
Produced byIrwin Winkler
Rob Cowan
Written byJohn Brancato
Michael Ferris
Starring
Music byMark Isham
CinematographyJack N. Green
Edited byRichard Halsey
Production
company
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • July 28, 1995 (1995-07-28)
Running time
115 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$22 million
Box office$110.6 million[1]

Plot

United States Under Secretary of Defense Michael Bergstrom commits suicide after being informed that he has tested positive for HIV.

Angela Bennett is a systems analyst in Venice, California who telecommutes to Cathedral Software in San Francisco. Her interpersonal relationships are almost completely online and on the phone, with the exception of forgettable interactions with her neighbors and visits to her mother, who is institutionalized with Alzheimer's disease and often forgets who Bennett is. Bennett's co-worker Dale sends her a floppy disk with a backdoor labeled "π" that permits access to a commonly used computer security system called "Gatekeeper" sold by Gregg Microsystems, a software company led by CEO Jeff Gregg. Dale and Bennett agree to meet, but the navigation system in Dale's private aircraft malfunctions and it crashes into a tower, killing him.

Bennett travels to Cozumel, on vacation, where she meets Jack Devlin. After seducing Bennett, Devlin pays a mugger to steal her purse as they walk along the beach. He chases the mugger into the foliage, catches the mugger, and roots through the purse to find the disk before shooting the mugger. He takes Bennett out on his speedboat to kill her as well, but she finds his gun and confronts him. While fleeing with the disk and Devlin's wallet, Bennett's dinghy collides with rocks, destroying the disk and hospitalizing her. She is unconscious for three days.

When Bennett wakes up, she finds that all records of her life have been deleted: She was checked out of her hotel room in Cozumel, her car is no longer at the airport parking lot, and her credit cards are invalid. Bennett's home is now empty and listed for sale. Moreover, because none of the neighbors remember her, they cannot confirm her identity. Bennett's Social Security number is now assigned to a "Ruth Marx," for whom Devlin has entered an arrest record by hacking the police computer system. When Bennett calls her own desk at Cathedral Software, an impostor answers and offers Bennett her old life back in exchange for the disk. She contacts the only other person who knows her by sight, psychiatrist and former lover Alan Champion. He checks her into a hotel, offers to contact a friend at the FBI, and arranges to have her mother moved for her safety.

Using her knowledge of the backdoor and a password found in Devlin's wallet, Bennett logs into the Bethesda Naval Hospital's computers and learns that Under Secretary of Defense Bergstrom, who had opposed Gatekeeper's use by the federal government, was misdiagnosed. Fellow hacker "Cyberbob" connects π with the "Praetorians," a notorious group of cyberterrorists linked to recent computer failures around the country. Bennett and Cyberbob plan to meet, but the Praetorians intercept their online chat. Bennett escapes from Devlin—a contract killer for the cyberterrorists, but the Praetorians kill Champion by tampering with pharmacy and hospital computer records. After Bennett is arrested by the California Highway Patrol, a man identifying himself as Champion's FBI friend frees her from jail. She realises he is an impostor and escapes again.

Now wanted for murder and thought to be Ruth Marx, Bennett hitchhikes to Cathedral's office where, using her impostor's computer, she connects the cyberterrorists to Gregg Microsystems and uncovers their scheme: once the Praetorians sabotage an organization's computer system, Gregg sells Gatekeeper to it and gains unlimited access through the backdoor. Bennett emails evidence of the backdoor and Gregg's involvement with the Praetorians to the FBI from the Moscone Center and tricks Devlin into releasing a virus into Gregg's mainframe, destroying Gatekeeper and undoing the erasing of her identity. During a battle on the catwalks of the convention center, in which Devlin accidentally kills the Bennett impostor from Cathedral Software (the real Ruth Marx), Bennett ambushes Devlin with a fire extinguisher, causing him to fall to his death. Bennett regains her identity, home, and life. She then reunites with her mother, and the conspiracy is exposed, with Jeff Gregg being arrested by the FBI.

Cast

Production

In October 1994, Bullock committed to filming The Net from mid-January through April 10, 1995.[4] The Net was filmed in San Francisco's Moscone Center and Macworld on January 5, 1995,[5] as well as at Washington, D.C. locations in April 1995.[6]

Reception

Box office

With an estimated budget of $22 million and a release date of 28 July 1995, The Net earned $50,727,965 in domestic box office. Including foreign markets, the film grossed $110,627,965 worldwide,[7] with an additional $23,771,600 in United States rentals.[8]

Critical response

Based on 51 reviews, it has an average score of 5.2 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes with 41% of critics giving positive reviews. The site's consensus states: "The premise isn't without potential and Sandra Bullock is as likable as ever, but The Net lacks sufficient thrills -- or plausible plot points -- to recommend catching."[9] Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, describing The Net as basically an update of an Alfred Hitchcock trope ("Innocent Person Wrongly Accused"), which was in parts contrived but carried by Bullock's naturalistic performance.[10] Owen Gleiberman, writing for Entertainment Weekly, complimented Sandra Bullock's performance, saying "Bullock pulls you into the movie. Her overripe smile and clear, imploring eyes are sometimes evocative of Julia Roberts".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[12]

Sequel and spin-off tv series

A sequel named The Net 2.0, starring Nikki DeLoach as Hope Cassidy and directed by Charles Winkler, son of Irwin Winkler, was announced in February 2005. It was released direct-to-video in 2006, and was about a young systems analyst who arrives in Istanbul for her new job to find that her identity has been stolen.

The film spawned an American spinoff TV series starring Brooke Langton as Angela Bennett.

See also

References
  1. boxofficemojo.com. "The Net". Accessed February 26, 2016.
  2. "The Net". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  3. What We Learned About Technology From 1995′s The Net
  4. "Thriller may 'Net' Actress Over $2 Million". Chicago Sun Times. October 24, 1994. p. 38. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  5. "She Parked The Bus Outside". San Francisco Examiner. January 6, 1995. p. A25.
  6. Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith (March 1, 1995). "At Work On 2 Projects, Bullock Going Full-Speed Ahead". Los Angeles Daily News. p. L2. Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
  7. "The Net at Box Office Mojo". Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  8. "Sandra Bullock in The Net". AND Magazine. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
  9. "The Net Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  10. Ebert, Roger (28 July 1995). "The Net Review". Chicago Sun-Times.
  11. Owen Gleiberman (August 4, 1995). "'The Net' review at EW". Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  12. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
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