Film Review: Reboot (short film) (2012)

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SYNOPSIS:

A young female hacker awakens from a traumatic event that she scarcely remembers, and an iPhone glued to her hand. On the phone, a countdown is ticking away to zero. What happens at zero? Who is she, and why has she become an extension of the device? As the minutes tick away, our heroine must race against time to put the pieces together before the mysterious, pending zero-hour strikes

REVIEW:

This new short by creator Joe Kawasaki, touches upon a sensitive area, one that could easily become a reality for many. We are in the age of electronic media’s, and within this age are those elites who possess abilities that weave inside and out of like electronic ninjas. The short opens on various narratives about how culture has changed and how hackers have become a threat to this culture with abilities that many do not understand. There of course are those who want this planet to suffer for its ignorance in making information so freely accessible and revealing. There are those who work for corporations and mainly earn a wage by finding exploits within the system or security leaks. Emily Somers plays the role of “Stat”, one of these work-for-hire hackers.

As she awakens in her apartment, Stat find herself surrounded among broken personal items and a curious cell phone super-glued to her hand. Worse for the wear, she also seems to have suffered a broken nose. As Stat makes her way to consciousness, she begins a conference call with 2 fellow hackers who help her to figure out what “it” is she got into and why this object is glued to her hand. Counting down, it is apparent that the phone is making its way down to “something”. What that is, is a mystery and of concern.

Upon discussions, Stat remembers a super hacker named “Jesse” (Travis Aaron Wade) who confronted her in a coffee shop and warned her of upcoming chaos. He also happened to be the cause of her broken nose feeling betrayed by her stance on things as a fellow hacker. Quickly Stat works to solve the puzzle and hopefully avert the phone from reaching its zero point.

Joe Kawasaki has created a short film running about 40 minutes that embraces the hacker culture and the threat of “what could come”. It’s well acted with an obvious lean on techie know-how imploying code in a way that feels authentic. While the piece is somewhat geared towards science fiction, it feel like “current-fiction” that could easily become non. The short draw tension in its viewing and works for what it sets out to do. Travis Aaron Wade is a believable and formidable villain with the lovely Emily Somers fitting her role as “Stat” in the same way that Lisbeth Salander from “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was portrayed.

A compelling short, that is perhaps a reminder to our culture about what “may” lie ahead. The title alone is not “that” conspicuous in its final reveal. Great stuff!

Reboot (short film) (2012)