The mid-90s saw a wave of cyber thrillers that seemed fearful and paranoid about the decade's emerging new technology - The Net, Johnny Mnemonic, Disclosure, Virtuosity, etc. At first glance, Hackers probably seemed like it was just trying to cash-in on that trend. The reality is that had the studio not gotten cold feet, it would have been the first one out of the gate. There's no guarantee that would have helped it fare any better at the box office, but it might have prevented the film from getting lumped in with its more pessimistic contemporaries. Because that's the key distinction with Hackers - this isn't a warning, it's a celebration. It has a genuine affection for this subculture and wants the audience to be just as excited about it as these characters are. That's a big reason the movie still has a following 25-years-later.

So what's the verdict? An ahead-of-its-time cult classic or a crash & burn? Let's find out. Topics include: the studio's unexpected support for casting unknown actors in the lead roles, the teen movie tropes that work against one of the larger themes they're exploring, why The Plague never really registers as a credible threat, the point where the film becomes concerned with plot over character, why this all still ultimately works in spite of that, and much more!

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