10 Classic And Absurd Examples Of Computer Hacking In Movies

As long as you can leave the realm of reality firmly behind you, “Swordfish” is both wildly entertaining and utterly absurd. With such Hollywood glitz in the form of John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Don Cheadle, and the captivating presence that is Halle Berry, you wouldn’t think twice about tuning in if you found it when browsing through Netflix. That is, of course, unless you have already endured even five minutes of it. 

As a hacking movie, “Swordfish” gets almost everything wrong. It’s riddled with the amateur errors we now expect in Hollywood blockbusters, from misspelled technical terms (algorythm!) to code lines obviously repeating over and over during hacking scenes that the audience is supposed to be taking seriously. 

The absurdity peaks when Jackman’s character effortlessly deciphers unbreakable 512-bit encryption keys in a snap, an impossible feat in reality. Scriptwriting intelligence doesn’t end there, either. At one point, Travolta’s government operative character forces Jackman into hacking the Pentagon while receiving the unwanted attention of a female and a gun pointed at his head, which he does, of course, just in the nick of time.

John Travolta received a Razzie Award nomination for his eccentric performance. In fact, he managed to get himself nominated for two separate movies that year. However, if you’re one for over-the-top acting and action sequences, you may well enjoy this ridiculous movie. That is provided you can put aside its disregard for complex hacking techniques.