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# Fifteen Years of Hacking The Planet
- URL: https://www.vjarmy.com/fifteen-years-of-hacking-the-planet/
- Published: 2010-09-15T04:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-07T19:19:43.000Z
- Description: “Turn on your computer. Set it to receive a file.”
- Author: Dan Dickinson
- Tags: TV & Movies

Fifteen years ago today, “[Hackers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/?ref=vjarmy.com)” – a much mocked, yet much beloved piece of mid-90’s cheese – hit theatres. Entertainment Weekly’s Owen Gleiberman [gave it a D](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,298989,00.html?ref=vjarmy.com), declaring it a “dismal mess”, adding “…what’s most grating about Hackers, however, is the way the movie buys in to the computer-kid-as-elite-rebel mystique currently being peddled by magazines like Wired.” Roger Ebert [opted to give it 3 stars](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19950915/REVIEWS/509150302/1023&ref=vjarmy.com), calling it “smart and entertaining, then, as long as you don’t take the computer stuff very seriously”.

Everyone has their favorite cult movies; this one is mine. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on Netflix instant queue as of a few weeks ago. You owe it to yourself to watch this fantastical attempt at a technothriller and delight in dialog such as “Turn on your computer. Set it to receive a file.”

What’s most intriguing to me about Hackers has been an anti-curse: people who have appeared in it has mostly gone on to great things. In the time since the movie was released:

[Jonny Lee Miller](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001538/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Dade Murphy”) went on to play Sick Boy in Trainspotting.  
[Angelina Jolie](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001401/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Kate Libby”) became a household name and won an Oscar.  
[Jesse Bradford](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0103038/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Joey Pardella”) did a stint on The West Wing, and starred in Flags of Our Fathers.  
[Matthew Lillard](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000498/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Emmanuel Goldstein”) rose to fame in Scream and then raked in cash hand over fist in Scooby Doo.  
[Fisher Stevens](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001770/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Eugene Belford / ‘The Plague'”) has been on Lost, Ugly Betty, It’s Always Sunny, and won an Oscar this year for Best Documentary.  
[Lorraine Bracco](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000966/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Margo”) went on to play Dr. Melfi on The Sopranos.  
[Wendell Pierce](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0682495/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“S.S. Agent Richard Gill”) went on to play the beloved William ‘Bunk’ Moreland on The Wire.  
[Penn Jillette](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0422710/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Hal”) hit it big on Vegas, and helped create the critically acclaimed “Bullshit!” on Showtime.  
[Marc Anthony](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004711/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“S.S. Agent Ray”) had his musical career blow up, and married Jennifer Lopez.  
[Felicity Huffman](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005031/awards?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Prosecuting Attorney”) won an Emmy for her work on Desperate Housewives.  
[Naoko Mori](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0605283/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“Tokyo Hacker”) showed up as the beloved “Tosh” on Torchwood in 2006.  
[Sam Douglas](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002243/?ref=vjarmy.com) (“English Teacher”) was in Eyes Wide Shut, Mission Impossible, The Fifth Element, and Snatch – oh yeah, and essentially was Scott Shelby in this year’s PS3 hit Heavy Rain.

Whatever you do today, make sure you hack the planet.