Sneakers (1992)

Sneakers / Phil Alden Robinson (1992). Security expert Martin Bishop (Robert Redford) has a secret past. He has been wanted for the last 20 years by the Feds for his ‘60s activism. He gets busted by the NSA but they promise him a wipe of his record if he helps them out with a caper. Of course, double and triple crosses ensue. The fun in this picture is Bishop’s team of misfits and nerds and their interaction with on another. There’s Mother (Dan Aykroyd), Crease (Sidney Poitier) a former CIA agent, Carl (River Phoenix), Whistler (David Strathairn) blind but with powerful use of touch and hearing, Liz (Mary McDonnell), Bishops former squeeze and a reluctant addition to the team. The McGuffin is a “black box” that can crack any code or hack any encrypted website. The early ‘90s computers with their dial-up modems are a fun nostalgic trip into the not-so-distant past. Poitier and Ben Kingsley (who turns up as the chief antagonist) are, of course, powerhouse actors and screen attention grabbers. They add a lot to the film. It is a kind of wistful sadness to see River Phoenix who only had about a year to live. He gets the movie’s best line. When the NSA, showing up armed at Bishop’s office, wants to know what reward the team wants (Bishop wants cash, Crease a European vacation for himself and his wife), Phoenix only says, “If the young lady with the Uzi is single, I would like her phone number.”