Sneakers Plot Summary and Details

Plot

In this tech-thriller from director Phil Alden Robinson, a group of five renegade computer hackers, led by Martin Bishop (Robert Redford), are hired by the government to steal a black box, containing a code-breaking machine, from the mathematician who invented the device. The government is able to persuade Martin to take the job by convincing him that they will drop a decades-old federal warrant for his involvement in computer fraud. Martin agrees and he takes his team on the mission, eventually taking the box. Shortly after the hackers have stolen the device, the mathematician turns up dead. Before long, the quintet realize that they've gotten themselves into more than they'd originally bargained for, as Bishop's old rival Cosmo (Ben Kingsley) enters into the fold. The eclectic ensemble also includes River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, David Strathairn, Mary McDonnell, and James Earl Jones.

MPAA Rating:

PG-13 for brief sexual references.

Genre(s):

Action,Drama

Run Time:

125min.

Theatrical Release Date:

08/27/1992

DVD Release Date:

03/31/1998

Distributor(s):

Universal

Director(s):

Phil Alden Robinson

Starring:

Robert Redford , Sidney Poitier , Ben Kingsley , Dan Aykroyd , Mary McDonnell

Themes:

Faltering Friendships,Computer Paranoia,Fighting the System,Political Corruption,Heroic Mission

Tone:

Poignant,Talky,Witty,Paranoid,Cerebral,Deliberate

Keywords:

blackmail,computers,con/scam,double-cross,espionage,friendship,fugitive,gangster,government,hacker,investigation,kidnapping,killing,rampage,technology

Country of Origin:

USA (09-09-1992)

Language:

English