Even legends stumble. Scott Bakula, a name synonymous with science fiction thanks to "Quantum Leap" and "Star Trek: Enterprise," once starred in a Tom Clancy-branded movie so destined for failure, it practically imploded on arrival. And this is a cautionary tale for even the biggest stars: success isn't guaranteed, no matter how prestigious the source material.
That project was "NetForce," a 1999 ABC television movie directed by Robert Lieberman (who later worked on "The Expanse"). Based on a series of books carrying Tom Clancy's name, the connection is… well, interesting. Clancy and Steve Pieczenik conceived the idea for NetForce, but Steve Perry actually wrote all the books. Talk about a branding exercise!
Bakula, playing FBI NetForce deputy chief Alex Michaels, wasn't alone. The cast boasted heavy hitters like Joanna Going, Xander Berkeley, Brian Dennehy, CCH Pounder, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Kris Kristofferson, and even Judge Reinhold. But here's where it gets controversial... The film’s core concept – a futuristic FBI division tackling internet crime – was inherently flawed.
Imagine trying to predict the internet's evolution in 1999. The movie attempted to capture the web as an integral part of the narrative. And this is the part most people miss... What seemed cutting-edge then quickly became laughably outdated. Think of it like predicting the future of cars – by the time your prediction hits the streets, technology has already zoomed past it. While there are many great hacker movies out there, "NetForce" rarely makes the cut.
Like "CSI: Cyber," which starred Patricia Arquette and Ted Danson and faced a similar fate of quick cancellation, "NetForce" opted for a sensationalized, Hollywood-style approach to cybercrime. Bakula's character leads a team of spunky internet cops against Will Stiles (Reinhold), a thinly veiled Bill Gates stand-in. Stiles' company is about to unleash a new web browser that, gasp, will allow it to supervise every computer on the planet and dominate the internet! (Sound familiar? Many real-world companies have achieved similar levels of user tracking with simple tracking cookies, but without the dramatic villainy.)
Of course, because this is a high-octane action movie, Stiles' plan isn't thwarted by diligent researchers spending years analyzing code and compiling evidence. Instead, "NetForce" delivers the Hollywood goods: gunfights, explosions, and even assassinations. The portrayal of both police work and technology is, shall we say, inspired. It stretches credulity to its absolute breaking point. For example, the "hacking" often involves little more than frantically typing on a keyboard while shouting technobabble.
Watching "NetForce" today requires a level of suspension of disbelief akin to accepting Jules Verne's idea of shooting people to the Moon with a giant cannon. It can be enjoyable on a purely camp level. But even contemporary reviews from 1999 found the film's 2005 vision of the future underwhelming.
If you're a die-hard Scott Bakula fan determined to see everything he's ever done, "NetForce" might offer some amusement. But if you're seeking realistic portrayals of hacking, you're better off re-watching "Star Trek: Enterprise." At least the Federation's outlandish technology is set hundreds of years in the future, giving the filmmakers plenty of leeway.
So, what do you think? Was "NetForce" simply a victim of its time, or was its flawed premise doomed from the start? Could a more grounded approach have saved it? And what's the most hilariously outdated depiction of technology you've ever seen in a movie or TV show? Share your thoughts in the comments!
