The Best Hacker Movies

This was such a groundbreaking adventure in reality and existentialism. No, you will not learn how to break into a Linux server by watching Trinity port-scanning with "nmap". But this movie is definitely cool, nonetheless. 

Modern heist movies always involve some sort of hacking. This particular heist movie is extremely entertaining, especially when the supposed true inventor of "Napster" is the main hacker. At least 20 minutes of hacking footage in this actioner. Definitely worth renting if you haven't seen it.

She's a Swedish hacker who types on a Mac and lives with Asperger's Syndrome.  She teams up with a journalist to solve a murder-mystery. And she has a dragon tattoo.  Based on the Stieg Larsson novels, this film has earned international acclaim, and has been remade in English with Daniel Craig.  Warning: this movie does have graphic sexual content.

This movie has some strong points about it. Two idealistic computer whiz kids graduate from Stanford, and one of them enters the world of private sector programming. Sure enough, these two programmers find themselves in the middle of cybercrime scandals. Definitely worth renting for three bucks.

Edward Norton and Robert De Niro are fabulous in this heist flick. In a clever plot to rob a Montreal customs house of some royal artifacts, Norton and De Niro must break into the security systems with the help of a socially-awkward hacker who lives in his mother's basement. 10 minutes of hacking, and 100 minutes of phenomenal robbery storytelling!

This movie is a cult favorite of video gamers:  it depicts a dystopic future where the minds of state prisoners are computer-linked to the consoles of rich game players.  The action is brutally violent, and the concept is over the top.  But the computer graphics and special effects will slake the bloodthirst of action fans.  The final 10 minutes is an eerie blend of hacking and megalomania: Michael C. Hall lipsynchs Sammy Davis Jr.  while mind controlling his zombie soldiers...that scene alone is worth the price of the rental.

This is the flawed storytelling of how Apple and Microsoft came to be. While this movie got mixed reviews, many people have commented they loved it. Three dollars at your video store, and you can decide for yourself if this was a good film.

Don't bring your brain to watch this, either. The story is weak, and the hacking scenes are nowhere near reality. But you have to watch this just to say you did. You'll learn where the iconic names of "Zero Cool" and "Lord Nikon" come from. You'll hear some breakthrough techno music in the soundtrack. Plus: Angelina Jolie is reason enough for most men to rent this cult classic.

While you won't see computers in this classic film, the theme of surveillance and the violation of people's privacy is so masterfully explored here.

**Related movie: The Conversation was re-imagined as Will Smith's Enemy of the State in 2001. The 2001 treatment of the story was designed as a modern techno thriller, and has some tremendous special effects and satellite surveillance sequences. Having Gene Hackman star with Will Smith makes it worth the price of a DVD rental.