Hardwired (2009) User Reviews (44)

Considering the Current 4.7 IMDb Rating, This Wasn't That Bad.

[FiendishDramaturgy · 6/10 · 4 March 2010]

Okay, yes. You've seen the material a thousand times from Freejack to Johnny Mneumonic to Total Recall to Matrix. This echoes both John Carpenter's, "They Live," and the more-recent "Gamer," with some of the feel of the original "Blade," attempted, but never achieved.

The action is awesome, well choreographed, and professionally executed throughout a Terminator-stylized storyline including the end of the world as we know it via robotics and a mad scientist portrayed disappointingly by Val Kilmer.

Mad scientists should be either raving mad, or insidiously fiendish. Kilmer's Virgil was full of high ideas with no moral center, but he utterly lacked the diabolism required to carry through such a plan. It was like he knew from the beginning that he was doomed to fail, and played the character thusly, failing to invest too much of himself in a doomed role. I wanted him to be Madmartigan vs. the kid from Real Genius, and instead, I got Craig Ferguson's Dr. Wagner of Lenny the Wonder Dog. To say the least, I was disappointed.

Decent on a rainy afternoon if there's nothing left in the house to clean. Otherwise, you could find something better to do with your time.

It rates a 5.5/10 from...

the Fiend :.

For a TV pilot, not bad.

[Scott7411 · 6/10 · 29 November 2009]

This...is...not...a...movie...folks.

It...is...obviously...a...TV...pilot.

Kilmer and Ironside clearly had no interest in doing a TV series, but Gooding apparently did. And for TV, not so terribly bad. The concept just about carries it. As for the comments about clutzy props, TV show decider-suits love the idea that the thing won't cost them a bunch, yank some crap out of the warehouse and fake the rest.

I liked it for what it was. And for the ludicrous notion that higher powers would want to put chips into us. Wherever did they get that from?

Of course, this puppy won't see the light of day.

Sci-fi on a budget

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 28 January 2014]

Ploughing the same furrow as conspiracy-style futuristic sci-fi thrillers as Spielberg's MINORITY REPORT, HARDWIRED is a science fiction film on a budget. Starring the less-than-stellar Cuba Gooding Jr. as an ordinary guy who almost dies in a car accident and is brought back to life thanks to the intervention of a sinister commercial organisation, this is slightly disappointing and intriguing in equal measure.

The most interesting part of the production are the sly digs at numerous subject matters, including the failings of the American healthcare system and the increasingly desperate efforts of modern-day advertisers. The sci-fi and action tropes are less successful, with a few cheesy CGI effects thrown into the mix, but the script is a little more intelligent than is the usual for the B-movie genre.

HARDWIRED also boasts a fine supporting role for the criminally underrated Michael Ironside, who gets the opportunity to sink his teeth into a decent character part for a change after years spent whiling away his time in Z-grade disaster flicks. There's also a good performance from the up-and-coming Tatiana Maslany, although the less said about Val Kilmer's bad guy the better; Kilmer is stiffer than a board here and his acting often painful.

Still, this is a film which turns out slightly better than I had expected, and the various mind-melding mind-control stuff is handled in such a way that's not original, but nevertheless entertaining. HARDWIRED is certainly no classic, but an efficient enough timewaster.

Juvenile attempt at Cyberpunk

[bobconstans · 3/10 · 26 August 2017]

Hardwired is like a (bad) Max Headroom fanfic RoboCop ripoff - including trying to make it look like it was made back then, except the production values don't look as good. It might have worked as a parody sketch if they'd kept it under 10 minutes. The special effects are particularly unbelievable. Throughout I kept feeling it was more like a Made-For-TV Movie, and with the ending more appropriate to a TV Pilot, it makes me wonder. It's not even so-bad-it's-funny, merely pathetic, so avoid this even for Schlock B-Movie nights.

I'm fairly generous with my Ratings, so 3 might be high.

Enjoyably bad

[krachtm · 5/10 · 15 March 2013]

The plot: After being involved in a nasty car crash, a man receives an experimental implant, courtesy of an omnipresent, multinational corporation.

Hardwired is a throwback to the low budget cyberpunk movie boom of the early 90s. With former A-list stars, an interesting (though not quite original) premise, and lots of action scenes, you'd think that this movie would have lots of promise. One could even be forgiven for thinking that it'd even be good. Unfortunately, it's so cheesy, predictable, low budget, and comically inept that you can't help but laugh. Despite all of its ridiculous problems, it's so earnest and enthusiastic that I can't bring myself to hate it. It's an enjoyable mess of a movie, as long as you're not expecting something intellectual and artistic.

Amidst all the cheesiness, there were some things that worked well, and I have to admit that I'm tiny bit disappointed that there isn't a sequel. I would have loved to see Lance Henricksen play the evil megalomaniac. I guess we'll never know how the story ends, though it's probably for the best that we're not inflicted with an even more clichéd followup.

If you're a fan of low budget B movies, it can't hurt too much to give Hardwired a try.

watchable

[abc_ca2002 · 4/10 · 29 November 2009]

a very poor imitation of matrix and/or total recall or similar SiFi movies. though the Plot is not that bad , it is dragging too far, action is OK, acting in Cuba Gooding part and Ironside is good,Val Kilmer looks goofy though, other actors not very promising.

The sound track of the movie is annoying and out of place, it is like an Arabic belly dancing music imported right out from Cairo. by far the worst part of the movie is its sound track. at the end the score is kind of Indian drum combo with an Indian singer crying along very sadly.

all together it is a 'watchable movie.

wtf?

[stacey-66 · 1/10 · 22 October 2009]

Don't be fooled by the A-list actors. I think Cuba Gooding Jr and Val Kilmer must have been tricked into working on this crap. It even looks like the director tried to hide his name on the credits.

Hardwired was derivative in way that makes you think the writer has heard about Blade Runner and Minority Report, but never seen either. It's unoriginal with a non-existent plot, and cheesy effects from the very start. Truly painful to watch. The effects include exploding heads with "Evil-Dead-like" blood spurting, and After Effects starbursts for bullet strikes plus annoying high-pitched ringing throughout the film. The computer "hacking" was not only boring but laughable. (My life's work of "hacking" stored on a USB stick:) Even the 2 cyber punks were unconvincing. It takes place in the future yet everyone drives cars from the 90s. The set design was total crap, and it looks like it was shot on a camcorder in 1992. I kept thinking I was watching a low budget sci-fi TV show from the early 90s on a second rate network. I can't believe I watched this movie. There's no redeeming qualities to mention. It was simply terrible, and not in a cute B movie fashion.

Please, save yourself. Run away from this movie!

[IMDBfoo · 1/10 · 20 October 2009]

It's really sad to see talent like Cuba Gooding Jr and Val Kilmer doing a movie like this. I bet when these guys first agreed to do this film, it was sold to them as the next "5th Element". Too bad it's just not going to help either of their careers. This movie is extremely low budget, and laughable at many times. From the very first scene, the low budget effects become apparent.

I give more credit to fan made films such as those made for Lord of the Rings and Metal Gear Solid, they were better quality and made by amateurs. This movie had no excuse. Poorly written, poorly filmed, and last but certainly not least - what's up with Val Kilmer's wig?

Not great, but better than you'd expect

[Wizard-8 · 21 December 2009]

Not too long ago, I wrote that Cuba Gooding Jr. simply didn't seem to care anymore, after appearing in one awful direct-to-video movie after another. And seeing him paired with the equally washed-up Val Kilmer, I didn't have high hopes for this movie. But after seeing the decent "Wrong Turn At Tahoe" and this movie, maybe things are turning around for Gooding.

Don't get me wrong - this isn't a GREAT movie. The script, for one thing, is derived from a number of past movies like "Total Recall" (which co-star Michael Ironside also appeared in). But it is competently done for what it is. The production values are pretty strong for a direct-to-video movie, Gooding is adequate in his role, and the script, while derivative, does try for a little mystery and a few original touches. No, it isn't a movie to seek out, but if it comes across on TV it will do the job.

Note to Val Kilmer fans: It's pretty obvious that he filmed all his (limited) scenes in two days at the most.

Not that bad, but not that great

[ndawson-957-252643 · 6/10 · 22 January 2011]

I didn't think the movie "Hardwired" was as bad as a 4. But it isn't the greatest either. Gooding's character Luke is played well as a distraught man trying to figure out what has happened to him and who is responsible. He really is the best part of the movie. On the other hand, Kilmer is always good for a crazy man, unfortunately I think Kilmer's character is strongly underplayed in this movie. Is he a crazy person? Or is he just a middle man with no heart? I don't know. I would of enjoyed it had he played with more psychotic emotion. The man responsible for Hope Corp. might as well been Kilmer's character. Did they actually pay the guy who was Mr. Hope? For the person responsible for the bases of this movie, he really didn't do much. I also don't know if it was a selling ploy, but why is Val Kilmer's hair perfect on the cover picture? It is far from perfect in the movie.

Conclusion: I enjoyed it as a relaxing Saturday, nothing to do, movie.

Just not worthy of a good sci-fi

[ratcat0 · 5/10 · 23 July 2016]

If you are reading this prior to viewing the movie then perhaps you wont find it as bad a movie as most reviews suggest. Yes it is lackluster and yes the props and scenery certainly don't suggest a time somewhere in the future but these things can easily be overlooked. Cuba Gooding plays out his emotions quite well and there are moments when Val Kilmer portray an evil maniac quite well with some very odd movements and almost unperceivable body language but no he has not aged well. It was almost laughable to see a 1980 Volvo being driven down the road without so much as a (now obsolete) dash GPS. Still, there are some moments that give this movie a bit of a kick along such as the departed wife reminding her now neurologically enhanced husband that she does love him while sensing that her unborn baby would like in on the action. Don't totally disregard this movie. Watch it when there is nothing but crud on TV and be prepared for a journey albeit a slightly bland one at times that can and will remind you of the ever growing nature of Globalism.

Great sci-fi thriller, with a realistic message

[Yadasampati · 10/10 · 19 August 2013]

I just watched this great movie, and really cannot understand the 4.7 rating. Please do not take any of the bad reviews serious. The people who wrote these reviews probably have a problem swallowing good quality food also, because they are used to junk food. This original and exciting sci-fi action-thriller should at least have a rating of 7, so i gave it a 10. The movie portrays a scary future, where dark forces take partial control of human beings minds by means of chip implants. A future, that actually might not be that far away from us. Apart from being very entertaining and full of suspense, keeping my attention all of the time, this movie has an important message to all of us. It shows the horrible reality of a world where evil people that are driven by greed, take control of our minds. The theme is nicely worked out. The acting might not be top-notch, but overall, it is good enough. Cuba Gooding Jr. performs alright, but Val Kilmer is rather disappointing and unconvincing. Luckily, his role is very limited. The camera work, and visual effects are nice and the script is OK. Certainly a movie not to miss!

Decent near-future scifi flick

[ded_meet · 6/10 · 2 November 2009]

I like scifi movies and have a soft spot for near-future stuff that isn't way out there but actually still relates to, and builds on, our contemporary "world". That is the strength of this movie - it is a computergame-influenced action set in a near-future world where corporations are powerful and personal integrity is - well - expendable in exchange for increased profit... The weakness of this movie is the computergame-storyline which is rather "straightforward" (and a bit predictable). Occasionally this movie feels like a computergame-trailer, or a movie launched to promote that game. Somewhat stiff acting from both Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr - they both seem a bit at unease in this movie somehow - is another drawback, but that's only considering what they can perform when more inspired I suppose. Overall the acting in the movie is quite good.

All and all this was a pretty good action/scifi movie! The scifi in this movie is credible, and as in any good scifi-movie the "world" and the issues/ideas/new technology/whatever are the things driving the story forward. Add good acting, a nice budget and well shot movie and you got yourself 1½ hours of good entertainment.

border-line decent but turns "video gamish"

[webmaster-1356 · 5/10 · 7 December 2009]

I just finished watching this movie. If you like sci-fi, you might enjoy this if you have nothing else to watch. The story line is OK, it could happen I suppose. The plot has been done so many times though. The acting is not there, even though it has some decent actors in it. Seems Cuba didn't even want to play the role, shows really no passion in the movie. The action failed real bad. After around 15 minutes or so, it turns video-gamish. The ending is left for a sequel in-which I have no clue as to why. Also, why did I give it a 5? It has it's moments & could have been a decent movie. If your a die-hard sci-fi fan, you might just like it. I try to be fair when judging all movies, because what I don't like others will & vice-versa.

ohhh pleeease..

[pistu34 · 3/10 · 22 October 2009]

... this movie is soooo bad. I could tell you why, but it does not worth the words. Just spare your time and avoid it. It't lame and tells nothing new. :( Kilmer's character's hair is so funny that I was laughing for three minutes when he appeared in the movie... Actually all the characters are funny, as if they were a parody of themselves. I don't know if they were so bored to play such boring roles, or the script was too lame, or the director was sleeping in a corner during all the shooting, but this acting, and this entire movie is actually a shame for anyone who was involved in the making. Believe me, If you watch it, you will regret it in the end.

Unoriginal and Boring

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 28 November 2009]

In a future world dominated by the corporations, Luke Gibson (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is driving her beloved pregnant wife Veronica (Monica Mustelier) to her work on the day of his birthday; out of the blue, a truck hits their car. Luke's medical insurance is expired and he is doomed to die; however, the executive of the Hope Corporation Virgil (Val Kilmer) proposes Luke's sister to submit him to an experimental surgery with the implant of a chip in his brain. The amnestic Luke awakes and sooner he discovers that he has visions and he is the Subject 373 of a secret project. He is helped by a team of hackers formed by Keyboard (Chad Krowchuk) that became paraplegic after being shot by a henchman of the Hope Corporation; his father Hal (Michael Ironside); Punk Blue (Juan Riedinger); and Punk Red (Tatiana Maslany). Luke tries to recover his memories and discover the objective of the mysterious project.

"Hardwired" is an unoriginal and boring film that seems to be a bad pilot of a TV series. It is amazing the decadency of Cuba Gooding Jr., Val Kilmer and Michael Ironside. The worst is that I like these actors and regret their recent choices. Anyway, this movie is a good chance for those that have problems with insomnia and do not like to use pills. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Invasor de Mentes" ("Invader of Minds")

Jelly wired

[jack-964 · 1/10 · 20 October 2009]

It sounded interesting; chip in the head, which isn't very far in the future. But that's all it did; sounding interesting. The story itself is no good. Too much of the same thing all over again, and of less quality. I was actually saying "lame, lame, lame" as the movie went on. After that i had a hard time keeping my eyes open, followed by some more "lame, lame, lame".

Story, poor. It's unbelievable, unrealistic (yes scifi even though not possible at this time, has to be realistic) Pace, poor. There is no dynamics, but it gradually drags to the end. Character development, non existent. Effects, poor. A partially paralyzed (?) guy called "keyboard", that just lies there all the time typing with a glove on isn't very impressive. It's silly. Action, poor. Yes, there are some gunshots. Yeeha. Acting, poor. They were probably bored too.

The lighting was OK i guess.

Just shoot me

[echofour19 · 4/10 · 16 January 2010]

The best review I can give for this movie is "mildly entertaining". Even at that, most of the entertainment comes from the embarrassing special effects and flaws that continuously crop up throughout the film.

When I watched this movie, I thought it was made in the early 90's. To think it was produced in 2009 is nearly unbelievable- I think I've seen Youtube videos more impressive. Bullet impacts were star bursts; in one scene a van is hit with bullets multiple times without a single bullet hole.

At several times story flaws were so bad I felt an urge to punch a gaping hole in my TV. In a shooting scene, the main character "Luke" is in an industrial room with SWAT-like enemies closing in. One of them had his gun aimed right at his head when the lights cut out. For some reason, this means that he was incapable of shooting, and literally walked in the opposite direction to find Luke. Mind you, he was previously standing DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM.

The pain doesn't stop there as Luke pretends to occasionally randomly feel out in front of him as if he can't see. Even though the main lights were cut, the room was still clearly lit. This wasn't the only moment I had to wonder whether the director expected me to assume that, despite what the movie shows, the scenes are much different than what they appear. I'm no fancy Hollywood director but I don't think it's that difficult to make a room dark. In fact I can do it at any moment with an amazing invention called "actually turning the lights off".

If you are considering watching this movie, you can feel what it's like right now: Simply ball your hand into a fist then punch yourself in the face repeatedly.

It's not as bad as some other reviews suggest

[retrogames · 18 July 2011]

...but it's not great either. The film has a budget, some nice action sequences, decent special effects and some good actors actually doing what they are paid to do. Oh, and Val Kilmer in a silly wig. Cuba Gooding Jr can act and does give his usual decent performance, despite the films flaws. Val Kilmer's scenes were obviously filmed in a day or two of shooting, hence the silly wig and the fact you only ever see him on a video screen or in the same set. Also looks like his lines were being read off a board or he had just read them for the first time 2mins before saying them.

Still the film did have some entertainment value, its not an awful film as other reviewers who voted it 1 have suggested, its just not a good film. It does have some pacing issues, sometimes there is too much explaining going on when anyone with sense can see what's going on, its not brain surgery (well it is in some parts!). It feels like a pilot for a TV series, especially the speech at the end and without giving too much away Lance Henriksen's face on the screen as the 'Mr Hope' of hope industry (you'll see what I mean if you watch it). If there is nothing else on, or you have watched most of the other recent releases then this will pass some time.

Among the worst movies i have seen lately

[bluf2000 · 2/10 · 4 November 2009]

This movie is awfully bad. I am a fan of sci-fi movies, and i am prepared to accept some (decent) compromises, to see a very nice idea put into a movie. Apparently this movie has all ingredients to make a decent sci-fi flick. It has the idea (which is not new, but still can be used for good plots), has the actors (Kilmer, Gooding and Ironside). The reality is completely different. The movie fails on every aspect. I will detail below: 1. Actors. The well-known actors (Kilmer, Gooding and Ironside) seem to make the worst performance in their life. They were awful. Even if the movie is on very low budget, the quality of acting has nothing to with it. I have seen lots of movies with these guys, they are very talented, i cant imagine how could they make such performance. As the other actors, their performance is like reading a newspaper. Completely bald. It even provoked lots of laughing. They were all unreal.

2. Idea/plot/Directing. The idea can be well exploited to make not only one, but many sci-fi movies. Well, in this case, the writer seemed very busy with something else. I cant explain myself otherwise, why he wasn't capable of making a fluid and coherent plot. It seems a plot written in a few days. Nothing complex, silly dialog, no character motivation. Not to speak of character development (completely missing. Completely!). Action scenes are non-realistic. I have seen Cuba Gooding in other action movies / scenes and was OK... well in this one, looked like he didn't want to play anymore, like he was bored and couldn't wait to go home. Same applies for all action scene protagonists.

3. General impression: very cheap movie, amateur bored actors, amateur writer, very busy (with something else i think) director. The impression was that the initial budget for this movie was drastically cut down, AFTER the movie making began, so all the people became upset, and they made all the job with *ruin the movie* idea (revenge) in mind. This explain actor performance, directing performance, image and scene quality.

Recommendation: don't even think to watch it. Even for free. I gave it 2/10 with indulgence.

Great concept ....

[schafer100 · 7/10 · 7 February 2010]

I enjoyed the storyline from the beginning. Cuba Gooding Jr. did an excellent job of acting. I was riveted from start to finish. I enjoy a film that pulls you in and keeps you there. This film did just that. The story flowed quite well and was easy to follow and understand. I rented this one based on previews I saw, and thought it might be good. It was. Parts of the film are like viewing a video game from the inside out. The idea was wild and I think anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi will enjoy this film. Like any sci-fi, you need some imagination. The acting made the film believable, especially Cuba Gooding Jr.. No actors/actresses stood out as doing a poor job. To those who gave this film a low rating; I'm not sure what you were expecting. Enter the film, kick back and enjoy!

An absolute train wreck. The one star is for Val Kilmer's hairdo alone

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 1/10 · 17 June 2016]

May 29 at 8:25pm · Instagram · The first IMDb review to pop up when you look up Hardwired has the log line "wtf?", which just about sums up the movie. It's straight up cow dung, a stunningly bad attempt to emulate everything from Blade Runner to Minority Report, failing in all imaginable ways. It does, however, possess a few deranged qualities which are worth a look purely for your own mirth and amusement. Let's start with Val Kilmer's hairdo. He sports a getup that looks as if someone threw the head of a mop into a wheat thresher, put it on his head and tried to style it like an emo anime character. It's baffling, shocking and the hairpiece gives a better performance than the former Bruce Wayne sitting beneath it. Now,here's the curious thing: on the DVD cover, Kilmer has a garden variety haircut, with no trace of the horror to come once you hit play. This makes not a bit of sense to me; if I were the filmmaker and it was my movie and I'd chosen that epic Goku hairdo for Kilmer, let alone get him to agree to it, I'd advertise it loud and proud, and put his image like nine different times all over the cover art. It's ironic that a film about excessive commercialism is guilty of false advertising, but there you have it. Anywho, Kilmer and the hair play Virgil Killiger, a whacky PR manager of a mega corporation whose main revenue comes from serial advertising, in a half assed future where society has reached the oft imagined 1984 dystopia. He's tasked with harassing Luke Gibson (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a man who owes a heavy debt to the company due to their products saving his life following an accident. Only problem is, it doesn't end there. The corporation gets greedy and tries to insinuate itself into every aspect of people's lives. Gooding bands together with a group of cyberpunk hackers led by Michael Ironside, and together attempt to bring down the company once and for all. It's al big dumb dumb of a flick that doesn't even put a modicum of effort in most of the time. Lance Henriksen fans beware: despite a credit, he's not even in the thing, except for a single recycled photograph which sets the film up for sequels that I will bet my left testicle will never get made.

Excellent Movie - A wakeup call

[neelay_das · 10/10 · 6 November 2009]

This is an excellent movie and is a wakeup call to anyone who supports a Corporate / Banker Interest controlled Public Health Insurance option. No wonder, it looks like the powers that be pushed hard to prevent this movie from being released into the theaters and it is out on DVD, first. The acting by Cuba Gooding, Jr. was really awesome. Wish, we lived in more sane times, where the movie could have been released in the theaters, for a wider audience to see it. I urge everyone to purchase/rent the DVD for this movie and check it out. The movie may give a feeling of Deja Vu to some people and appear as a prelude to the Matrix Trilogy.

Good Science Fiction is hard to come by... This one is certainly better than most...

[lathe-of-heaven · 7/10 · 3 November 2012]

Okay, so the once great Val Kilmer looks a little goofy and yeah, Cuba Gooding Jr. has won Oscars for MUCH better. But people, this is Science Fiction for God's sake! Just exactly WHEN was the last time you saw a decent Sci Fi film, hmmm...? How about the tons of drivel cranked out by the Sci Fi channel? I truly think that this movie has some very good ideas in it. The opening scenes showing all the corporate advertising ALONE give this film a strong '5' to start with. A VERY clever idea in my opinion. I absolutely frigg'n LOVED the soundtrack; now THAT is a bloody great soundtrack!!! And technically (which is usually FAR more important in Sci Fi films) I thought that they were pretty sharp with the visuals and the editing, which gave it a fairly glossy look. With probably about 1% of the budget, I actually got flashes that reminded me strongly of 'ENEMY OF THE STATE' Not a bad accomplishment, considering...

Remember too, the BEST Science Fiction is based upon GOOD ideas; and the idea for this one is indeed quite intriguing. There have been several films made on this premise where in the near future corporations will own and control EVERYTHING (the introductory statement at the beginning of the movie is a nice touch)

So yeah, the movie was somewhat constrained by it's budget. But, I honestly thought that they accomplished a lot with what they had and were able to create a pretty good looking film and, surprisingly, were able to keep the Cheeeeez factor fairly low.

Let's not forget too that the movie DOES indeed have Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr., which is a HELL of a lot more than most low budget Science Fiction films have these days! Bottom line (and I really DO like saying 'Bottom'!) If you really appreciate a quality Science Fiction concept and you take the time to notice and enjoy all the nice visual and creative touches, you really should enjoy this film...

What were these former A-Actors thinking?

[RemoteControless · 3/10 · 1 October 2021]

Story material for movie-making by this film's standards, no longer exists.

Ugh.