I.T. (2016)

Number Rolled: 9

Movie Name/Year: I.T. (2016)

Tagline: Your life is not secure.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Length: 95 minutes

Rating: NR

Production Companies: Voltage Pictures, Friendly Films (II), Irish DreamTime, Mutressa Movies, 22h22, Canal+, Cine+, Fastnet Films

Producer: Pierce Brosnan, Nicolas Chartier, Romilda De Luca, Babacar Diene, Craig J. Flores, David T. Friendly, Valentina Gardani, Léonard Glowinski, Frank Hildebrand, Dan Kay, Macdara Kelleher, Elika Portnoy, Dominic Rustam, Sigurjon Sighvatsson, Beau St. Clair, Peter Veverka, William Wisher Jr.

Director: John Moore

Writer: Dan Kay, William Wisher

Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Jason Barry, Karen Moskow, Kai Ryssdal, Brian F. Mulvey, Martin Hindy, Rico Hizon, Anna Friel, Stefanie Scott, Clare-Hope Ashitey, David McSavage, James Frecheville, Olivia Romao, Adam Fergus, Gina Cervetti, Austin Swift, Melissa Veszi, Fionn Walton, Robyn Dempsey, Roy Nini, Steve Harland, Jay Benedict, Michael Nyqvist, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Bruce Johnson, Rico Simonini

Stunt Doubles: Aoife Byrne

Blurb from Netflix: An embittered IT consultant launches a stealthy attack against a wealthy businessman by turning his state-of-the-art smart home against him.

Selina’s Point of View:

I’m a little on the fence with this film.

To begin with, the film was definitely thrilling. In this over-connected world, I.T. exploited the idea of people gaining control over others through technology. It exposed a firm lack of privacy and reinforces the fact that no one can do anything about it if they don’t have an extreme amount of knowledge in all things tech.

All the actors did very well and the antagonist was intensely creepy… but there was a decent amount of cringe, too… and we all know that is beyond not my thing.

I had some minor issues.

Among those issues were accents that were used that really weren’t necessary and a few little plot holes. All-in-all, though, it still wasn’t that bad. It just wasn’t as good as I had been hoping it would be either.

I guess my final opinion is: although the film isn’t for me, it’s a perfectly legitimate choice for someone a little more interested in the plot, the creators, or one of the actors involved.

Cat’s Point of View:

I was pretty stoked that the dice gave us this movie. I was intrigued by the trailer, and it was #9 on my list of Movies to Look Out for in September of 2016.

I enjoyed this movie. It makes for a slight cautionary tale about the power of technology and those we trust to access that modern aspect of our daily lives.

Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia!, The November Man, No Escape) never fails to disappoint, for me at least. He slips as easily into the skin of the debonair super spy as he does family man. It is a bit more exciting to see him in action-driven roles than the romantic ones, but this film gives a little sample of everything. There’s action, romance, family dynamic, and a little of that spy feel.

I appreciated how some of the scenes were set up, and how the weather was even utilized. It made one particular scene of the movie quite memorable for me. Unfortunately, I’m unable to explain why in more detail because of spoilers.

Let’s talk a minute about James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom, Adore, The Stanford Prison Experiment). Can we say ‘creeper’? Of course, I mean his role in this movie. His portrayal of the I.T. guy hit on all the right notes to have me tilting my head to the side, squinting at him, and wondering what it was that was ‘off’ from the outset.

I certainly don’t want to ignore the ladies in this movie. I didn’t have any problems with their performances. There was one particular scene around the climax of the film where I was particularly impressed with Stefanie Scott (Frenemies, Caught, 1 Mile to You). Again, I don’t want to spoil things for you – but when actors are able to say so much with body language alone, it’s fairly powerful. It’s good to see that the young former Disney actress is spreading her wings.

I liked the movie. It was enjoyable enough that I’d recommend it and just might watch it again.

Languages

Speech Available: English

Subtitles Available: English, Spanish

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 10%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 26%

Metascore - 27/100

Metacritic User Score – 4.4/10

IMDB Score – 5.4/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 2.5/5

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: R

Movie Trailer: