When Sneakers was released in 1992, its promotional campaign was built around the technology on display in the film, the high point of which was a press kit that was delivered via floppy disc and required journalists to “hack” the information within. Although Sneakers touted a massive ensemble cast lead by Robert Redford, the real stars were its computers. It wasn’t the first film to prominently feature hackers and it was far from the first to showcase computer technology, but Sneakers managed to marry both to a real-world inspired narrative that welcomed both comedy and tension. Nearly a decade prior, director John Badham posited that a teen hacker could both unwittingly invade government databases and save the world from a nuclear holocaust in Wargames (1983). The biggest difference between Badham’s film and Sneakers, which is directed and co-written by Phil Alden Robinson (joined by the very same screenwriters behind Wargames, Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes), isn’t the large age gap between their protagonists but, rather, the stark difference in tone.
Wargames, though targeted at children, is surprisingly more serious than Sneakers, which is primarily driven by comedy, much of which was improvised by Redford and his peers, including the very funny Dan Aykroyd. Sneakers’s characters are never all that concerned with the world’s population, or even necessarily each other, as much as they are with data, dollars, and hardware. They are keen to pull off a heist just because they can and Robinson recognizes this, showing full well that the heist itself isn’t the point, but rather the planning and the camaraderie, or lack thereof, surrounding it. Though it would be a stretch to label Sneakers as a political film, a coda revealing where the funds were ultimately stolen from and how they were dispersed is an inspired, witty jab at a certain group of people. That said, for all the humor in Sneakers, its drama brings to mind more dramatic films like Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974). It does not resemble any other major studio comedy from the ‘90s: its jokes are subtle, a collection of smart turns of phrase, a showcase of Redford’s unimpeachable wit, and soft jabs at the tech industry and government.
On this last note, Robinson’s film shines in its willingness to accept and perpetuate technology as a central figure in its narrative. Computers are referenced in dialogue as if they were characters and many, like a supercomputer in the climax of the film, occupy a space in the frame usually reserved for A-listers. Sneakers is a sly miracle of a film; a relic from a bygone era when movie studios made smart movies for adults that were able to simultaneously be critical of our government, romantic, and hilarious in equal measure. And, they sold it with a floppy disc.
Sneakers screens this evening, April 27, at IFC Center as part of the series “The Vergecast Presents.” David Pierce and Nilay Patel of The Verge will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
