Matthew Lillard Techno-Thriller Available Free on Pluto TV

Matthew Lillard always amplifies the fun in any film. Whether he plays a horror-movie killer or an energetic stoner, Lillard has a special ability to make even the strangest characters unforgettable. His breakout came with Serial Mom and Scream. He then became permanently associated with Shaggy in both Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. More recently, he has found another generation of fans through projects like Five Nights at Freddy’s and Daredevil. His commitment never wavers, even when the material gets completely ridiculous.

Which brings us to the 1995 cyber-thriller Hackers, a film designed to produce maximum Matthew Lillard energy. Directed by Iain Softley, the film follows a group of teenage punks with a knack for hacking. They get caught in a corporate embezzlement scheme after one of their own accidentally uncovers the Da Vinci Virus, a dangerous computer program that could trigger an environmental disaster. Before long, they are framed for a crime they did not commit and have to use their combined hacking skills to expose the real culprit.

Meet Cereal Killer

Lillard plays Emmanuel Goldstein, aka Cereal Killer, a member of the primary hacker crew that also includes Dade Murphy, played by Jonny Lee Miller, and Kate Libby, played by Angelina Jolie. Goldstein is the group’s resident burnout, conspiracy theorist, and walking collection of ’90s slang. Early on, he takes a seat in an English class he is not enrolled in, offhandedly asking if he is in the wrong room only when caught. It is a throwaway moment that reveals he is not only irreverent but convinced he is the coolest person in the room.

Later, Goldstein gets to show there is more to him than his court jester persona. After the crew gets arrested, he appears on a hijacked television broadcast. He turns Cereal Killer’s usual stream of conspiracy theories into a nationwide exposé. While broadcasting concrete proof of a $25 million corporate theft to the entire country, Lillard never loses an ounce of his signature chaotic energy as he transitions from the crew’s most unhinged character into the hero of the film.

The rest of the cast makes Hackers memorable. Jonny Lee Miller brings a smirking arrogance to Dade, while a young Angelina Jolie commands the screen with the cool rockstar charisma that would make her an icon. Even Fisher Stevens leans into the absurdity, gliding through scenes on a skateboard as the corporate menace “The Plague.” However, Lillard remains the film’s chaotic heart. He brings an uninhibited absurdity that steals every scene, making Hackers feel like the blueprint for the eccentric energy he would refine for decades.

Iain Softley also gives the movie a distinct visual identity. Bathed in monitor glow and restless camera movement, the film transforms New York into a hyper-styled playground of technology and counterculture. Rather than predicting what the internet would actually look like, the movie captures the myth of the web as a boundless new realm where only the plugged-in youth truly understood its rules.

More than anything, Hackers has personality. It is not trying to be realistic, and it is not particularly concerned with whether its vision of hacking makes sense. The film treats cyberspace as an exclusive underground club where teenagers hold all the keys, executing every scene with an unmatched level of infectious ’90s bravado. If you want another dose, check out the 1999 anime series Serial Experiments Lain.

The vision of the web is hilariously dated. The literal virtual reality effects, neon rollerblades, techno-slang, and fantastical story all scream 1995, but that only elevates the film all these years later. Hackers expertly captures the internet’s wild and lawless adolescence before corporate polish flattened it into mundanity. What starts as an exercise in nostalgia quickly reveals why Hackers retains a fierce cult following. It is silly, chaotic, and absurdly stylized. There is a rare magic in watching a film commit so wholeheartedly to its own wild fantasy of the future.

Indulging that nostalgia will not cost you a dime. Hackers is streaming for free on Pluto TV right now. It is an invitation to revisit a time when the internet was equal parts lawless frontier and fever dream.

Hackers is streaming on Pluto TV

Source: Polygon