To begin, the movie introduces an (almost) impossible technology. The protagonist's company somehow, with only a few million dollars, is able to hook this technology to three satellites. This already ruins the movie, and it is quite clear from the start that the good guys will use this technology to overcome the bad guy. The reactions of all the characters in the movie are very shallow and one dimensional. The balance of the movie is predictable and in the end, when the protagonist finally use his technology, it does nothing more than tell him "Oh, the bad guy is here", a shoot-out occurs, and the bad guy gets shot. There isn't even a twist. There isn't even a mention of the subsequent police investigation -- the protagonist simple is seen walking out of his new corporate headquarters.
Another point which adds to the unbelievability of the entire premise is that the main antagonist is a surveillance wizard -- he has every aspect of the life of his target covered. Why then does he leave his own computers unprotected (not even locked) and why are there no cameras or security devices in and around his hide? Having the electronic document containing information of the planted secretary on the desktop is even more pathetic. For someone who is so aware that information is power, all such files would, at the very least, be encrypted.
Finally, there is one scene where the protagonist and an associate are tailing the antagonist which is very poorly done. They tail in a van which has a spare tire on the front, and in some scenes, they are no further than 20 ft behind the antagonist. A van with a spare tire in the center of the grill should normally be so eye catching that someone could not help but notice it. I was fully expecting the antagonist to have either 1) come back and confronted the two morons and berate them for being so stupid as to have followed him in such an obvious vehicle or 2) left a trap for them, laughing at them over his cell phone as the trap is sprung. But no, the script writer(s) *really* wants the audience to believe that the antagonist just didn't notice this sore-thumb-of-a-van following so closely for however long he was driving (as I recall, they must have driven for many hours, as it was still bright out when the tail started and it was dark once they reached the antagonist's hide).
This is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. I can happily suspend my disbelief so long as the created world is self-consistent, e.g., Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc., but this movie purports to occur in the present, on Earth with no magical powers anywhere. As such, it fails miserably...
Mind you, I think Christian Slater's acting was good, given that I haven't seen him play such a character before.
Another point which adds to the unbelievability of the entire premise is that the main antagonist is a surveillance wizard -- he has every aspect of the life of his target covered. Why then does he leave his own computers unprotected (not even locked) and why are there no cameras or security devices in and around his hide? Having the electronic document containing information of the planted secretary on the desktop is even more pathetic. For someone who is so aware that information is power, all such files would, at the very least, be encrypted.
Finally, there is one scene where the protagonist and an associate are tailing the antagonist which is very poorly done. They tail in a van which has a spare tire on the front, and in some scenes, they are no further than 20 ft behind the antagonist. A van with a spare tire in the center of the grill should normally be so eye catching that someone could not help but notice it. I was fully expecting the antagonist to have either 1) come back and confronted the two morons and berate them for being so stupid as to have followed him in such an obvious vehicle or 2) left a trap for them, laughing at them over his cell phone as the trap is sprung. But no, the script writer(s) *really* wants the audience to believe that the antagonist just didn't notice this sore-thumb-of-a-van following so closely for however long he was driving (as I recall, they must have driven for many hours, as it was still bright out when the tail started and it was dark once they reached the antagonist's hide).
This is one of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. I can happily suspend my disbelief so long as the created world is self-consistent, e.g., Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc., but this movie purports to occur in the present, on Earth with no magical powers anywhere. As such, it fails miserably...
Mind you, I think Christian Slater's acting was good, given that I haven't seen him play such a character before.