YMMV / Blackhat

• Complete Monster: Sadak starts the film by overloading the coolant pumps at the Chai Wan nuclear plant in Hong Kong, simply to test his code for a future attack. As Chen Dawai and Nicholas Hathaway attempt to track him down, he has hired mercenaries kill Chen with a car bomb while FBI agents Barrett and Jessup are gunned down in a separate confrontation. Sadak's plan is to flood several tin mines in Malaysia, destroying several villages in the process, in order to make a fortune trading tin futures. Sadak never shows any need for the money he will make from this attack, only seeking the notoriety he will gain from orchestrating such a massive payday. His allies are treated as mere assets, and he shows no sympathy when they die. Ultimately, Sadak's only care is for himself and his reputation, regardless of how much damage he causes or how many people he has to kill.
• Critical Backlash: Despite the film's poor reviews and box office numbers, a sizable amount of watchers have defended it as being overhated and underappreciated, especially in regard to the director's cut. While the film hasn't quite become Vindicated by History, as it is still seen as one of Mann's lesser films, it has gained a following. Some critics have said that the film's a good example on showing a potential case of a cybersecurity threat that can happen in real life.
• Questionable Casting: More than a few people are not convinced that a Hunk like Chris Hemsworth could play a black hat hacker.
• Spiritual Successor: To Ghost in the Shell. A print review in The Daily Telegraph says "Mann's film often feels like a live-action reimagining of that classic of cerebral melancholy."

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