In my opinion, there are two great "hackers vs. the government villains" movies out there, and, unfortunately for Jamie Foxx, "Bait" isn't one of them. Director Antoine Fuqua's visually pleasing but otherwise lacking creation has neither the suspense of "Sneakers" nor the endearing good looks of Matthew Lillard in "Hackers."
Here's the breakdown: Bristol, a super hacker played by Doug Hutchinson, has somehow broken into the most secure government servers (i.e. the ones that control nuclear weapons -- sound like sequel material?).
John Jaster, an overweight, heart attack-prone heavy machine operator played by Robert Pastorelli, figures out how to break into the U.S. Gold Reserve vaults in New York City. Together they steal $40 million in gold (240 bricks) but Jaster makes off with the loot when Bristol unexpectedly kills the two guards they have duct-taped to the vault bars.
Jaster ends up in jail with our hero, Alvin, played disappointingly by Foxx. The feds come in to take away Jaster and try to figure out where the gold is, and it's then that they realize that a hacker has caused a national security crisis. Jaster has his third heart attack in the questioning chair and dies before he can tell the investigator (the excellent David Morse) anything about the hacker or the gold.
Here is where Alvin's role becomes prominent. Jaster asked him to tell his girlfriend (who is only seen once, dead at the hands of the hacker) the cryptic messages "go to the Bronx Zoo", and that "there's no place like home." Alvin tells the feds this, and they storm the Zoo and find nothing, not realizing that Jaster's "Bronx Zoo" is figurative and not literal.(If you're a New Yorker, you would know what this meant, but for the rest of us, it's part of the mystery.)
Alvin is held in jail for his prawn heist and is released on an "officer's error" (oh, the things the government can do in the movies) with a microchip in his jaw that allows the investigator and his team of 50 or so computer geeks to track his whereabouts and hear his voice at all times. The trick is, Alvin doesn't know that he's been implanted with this chip, and doesn't know that he's the "bait" for the hacker.
The "Truman Show"-esque computer geeks sort of fall in love with Alvin, and they talk to his voice on the computer screen and hope he doesn't keep stealing and scamming. The investigator arranges for him to receive a $5,000 check from "the government" for his trouble, and finds other ways to keep Alvin "out of trouble." Alvin proves his worthiness by mostly keeping out of trouble, but this wouldn't be a crime movie without some crime.
There are chases, a little sex, romance, gorgeous cinematography, fights and lots of other typical hacker/action/government scandal movie type gimmicks, but unfortunately, Jamie Foxx isn't allowed to be funny. He is not like Jim Carrey in that he can not be funny when just being himself, which is something the humor-less script depends on.
In fact, Foxx is the main disappointment in "Bait." Audiences certainly can't be expected to grasp all the high-tech computer aspects of the plot. I expected Foxx to stand out comically despite the lack of excitement in the movie, but he didn't. Perhaps he really is not suited to carry a film on his own.
The best thing about this movie was the cinematography. Tobias Schleissler's work is visually awesome, and he uses his camera to work from some interesting angles.
Many of the computer visuals were pretty interesting, too, and quite impressive to anyone with limited computer knowledge.
When movies like "Bait" strike the bottom of the barrel, there are certain features that can redeem them: several great jokes or even a hot sex scene, and it is unfortunate that this movie delivers neither.
Grade: C
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