Review: Sneakers (1992)

Robert Redford stars as a former late 1960s radical and hacker who once left his buddy behind right before the cops show up during one of their exploits. Hey, you’d choose pizza over prison, too. Now in the 1990s, Redford has assumed a new name and leads a team of varied hi-tech experts who get hired to test the security systems of companies. A couple of NSA spooks (Timothy Busfield and Eddie Jones) show up who know Redford’s real identity and basically strong-arm him into helping them acquire a top-secret black box. They also agree to clear his record and will give Redford and his team a hefty amount of money for the gig. Of course, the spooks turn out to not be who they claim, and the black box is so powerful it can decode any and all encryption systems. The kind of thing governments – and other unsavoury types – would kill for. Enter Sir Ben Kingsley, as a man from Redford’s past whose identity is immediately obvious. Redford’s team is comprised of former CIA agent Sidney Poitier, conspiracy nut and tech whiz Dan Aykroyd, blind sound expert David Strathairn, and teen hacker River Phoenix. Mary McDonnell appears as Redford’s ex who is roped in for a very important part of the operation, Stephen Tobolowsky is the company nerd whom McDonnell is required to seduce and dupe, Donal Logue is the mathematician currently holding the black box, with Lee Garlington his lovestruck colleague, and James Earl Jones turns up briefly in a role best discovered yourself.

Up until Robert Redford’s passing, a lot of people probably hadn’t thought about this 1992 Phil Alden Robinson caper-comedy much over the years since its release despite it being a decent box-office success in its day. I suspect quite a few Redford fans have viewed a selection of his filmography since his death, and I hope at least some of you gave this one a watch in amongst “The Sting” and “All the President’s Men”. Whether it be your first viewing or the first since 1992, I hope you see what I’ve always seen: This one’s a heck of a lot of fun. I’ve watched it multiple times ever since I first saw it on VHS in 1992-93 and always have a great time. I don’t understand why Robinson has only directed five feature films, the three I’ve seen (“Field of Dreams”, “The Sum of All Fears”, and this) are all good films.

This is what you might call a dated, but not outdated film. It’s clearly dated 1992 from a technological perspective, but in all other facts this still works and it’s clearly an influence on the “Mission Impossible” films and “Ocean’s” franchise (and no I’m not talking about the 60s originator). This film walked so Tom Cruise could run. The cynicism and distrust of government agencies here is excellently conveyed and still highly relevant. Even the technological aspects still work if you have a working brain and know how to contextualise. This is slick, Hollywood entertainment and I am unashamed at being slickly entertained by it.

Robinson’s direction is underrated, I especially like how he manages to make this computer coding stuff visually interesting, several years before “The Matrix”. Without this film and George Orwell, you don’t get that landmark sci-fi film. The film is two hours long, but it really doesn’t feel long to me. I was too busy having as much fun as the cast look like they’re having. I won’t deny the plot is transparent from the opening scene, but it’s a clever idea for a film: 60s radical hackers end up on opposing sides in the 1990s.

The cast here is pretty perfectly chosen, with lead Robert Redford here to remind of the 70s spy-thrillers like “Three Days of the Condor”. He brings that history with him, whilst he and the film nonetheless keep things light. There’s some spooky, ominous conspiracy stuff here but we’re here to have a good time after all. Redford is easy to take to and clearly enjoying himself. Sir Ben Kingsley never decides on a consistent accent and runs more comically than Steven Seagal, but he gives a fun, eccentric villain performance. His best moment is when he refuses to kill someone he claims to care about…only to order one of his subordinates to do it instead. Priceless. The interesting thing about his character is that there’s some charm in amongst the slime, and he also has a legit gripe against Redford. Villains are often more interesting when they’ve got somewhat of a point. Despite having directed a few comedies himself (including the godawful “Ghost Dad”) you don’t normally associate the great Sidney Poitier with something like this. In my view he was one of the greatest actors to ever live, from his first screen performance onwards. He’s basically the respectable ‘straight man’ of the gang here, and is merely required to lend his presence and authority. I commend him for not phoning it in, which he easily could have and he even gets a couple of funny bits himself. I suppose you could argue that River Phoenix and David Strathairn aren’t your typical popcorn flick types, either. Phoenix apparently took on his role here because he'd just come from a heavier assignment and just wanted something a little breezier. He’s enjoyable and offbeat as the rather sensitive ‘kid’ of the group. Strathairn is the real surprise for me, he’s genuinely hilarious as the blind audio tech expert whose keen sense of hearing will come in handy at some point. More comically, his unique driving skills are also employed at one point in the film. Dan Aykroyd’s casting as conspiracy nut ‘Mother’ is absolutely no surprise, he’s basically just playing a version of one aspect of Aykroyd’s real personality it seems. It’s peak Dan Aykroyd, getting several of the film’s funniest moments with his rants. Mary McDonnell isn’t a favourite of mine, but playing Redford’s ex she’s never been better in my view. She and Redford are a good match, and she makes the most of what could’ve been a pretty stock role. Instead she gets to be a part of the fun, particularly in a great set piece involving the hilarious Stephen Tobolowsky as a boring tech company employee she needs to get close to. The film’s other top set piece comes earlier where Redford needs to get past a door with a keypad, leading to a hilarious scene between him and Lee Garlington (funny), with the other members of Redford’s crew communicating with him through an earpiece. It’s a classic, and Redford has never been funnier. In smaller roles, an incredibly slimy Timothy Busfield and thuggish Eddie Jones are almost scary as government slimeballs. Look out for the retroactively bizarre casting of a long-haired Donal Logue as a mathematician with a hard-to-place accent. I don’t think you’ll see him in another role like it.

“Ocean’s Eleven” meets “WarGames” with the distant echoes of “Three Days of the Condor” in this slick entertainment that wraps peak paranoia techno-thriller stuff in a light caper-comedy coating. A great cast, enjoyable characters, plenty of laughs, and a bit of government distruct food for thought too. Highly recommended, this is by far one of the best 90s tech-thrillers. The screenplay is by Lawrence Lasker (yes, the co-writer of “WarGames”), Walter F. Parkes (ditto), and the director. Apparently Lasker and Parkes first conceived of the project during pre-production on “WarGames”.

Rating: B+