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Dark Web: Cicada 3301 ©2021 Capelight Pictures

A rather unwieldy title: DARK WEB: CICADA 3301. Apparently the film has something to do with the abysses of the internet. But how do cicadas fit in and what is the number 3301 all about? In fact, the title of the film makes sense, because Cicada 3301 is an unknown organisation that has been attracting attention on the internet since 2012. On 5 January 2021, a message from the group was published on 4chan announcing that Cicada 3301 was looking for intelligent individuals. To this end, the group published various puzzles thematically dealing with data security, privacy and cryptography. Thus, further puzzles were published in the next few years, but the authors and their goals remain unknown so far. According to rumours, the organisation could, for example, be secret services looking for employees in this way.

With DARK WEB: CICADA 3301, a film dealing with the mysterious group has now been released in March 2021. The film is an action comedy directed by Alan Ritchson. For Ritchson it is the first feature film he has realised, before that he was more active as an actor and took part in the series BLUE MOUNTAIN STATE or TITANS, among others. In this film he also plays a supporting role, an NSA agent who investigates the main character Connor, who is embodied by Jack Kesy (DEADPOOL 2, DEATH WISH, BAYWATCH). In solving the mystery, Kesy is assisted by Conor Leslie, who you might recognise from THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE or SHOTS FIRED, and Ron Funches (6 UNDERGROUND, TROLLS).

Here’s what it’s all about…

Connor (Jack Kesy) lives a life on the fringes of society, he has hardly any money and can keep his head above water with a job as a bartender. Having already served a prison sentence, he finds it difficult to get back on his feet. But Connor is not to be underestimated; he has a photographic memory and a very high intellect, which has made him an excellent hacker. After emptying a Bitcoin wallet of an unfriendly bar patron one night, he comes across the secret organisation Cicada 3301 on the Dark Web, who are searching for intelligent individuals with a riddle. Spurred on by his own ambition, he solves the first riddle and gets more clues.

On the digital scavenger hunt, he meets librarian Gwen (Conor Leslie), who also solves Cicada 3301’s riddles during her work. The two join forces to get to the bottom of the mystery and take art professor and Connor’s best friend Avi (Ron Funches) into their ranks. The three of them seem unstoppable, but then they come up against the NSA, who are also interested in the identity of Cicada 3301. Because apparently the organisation has sinister intentions that could plunge the world into chaos.

Review

Basically, the film first offers a very intriguing premise. A group sets out to solve a mysterious mystery. There are clues hidden all over the city that only insiders can recognise. Sounds like a Dan Brown novel at first, with the Illuminati hiding around every corner. In DARK WEB: CICADA 3301, however, things are a little different. Films like THE DAVINCI CODE tell a serious and dark story, but Alan Ritchson has given his film a humorous tone, and unfortunately he does not succeed in this genre mix. On the one hand, he tries to tell an exciting story that should pull the audience along, but all moments that could create a pull are then broken by infantile gags. Although the film also offers a few very nice humour interludes, since the plot takes the main character as the narrator and he thus has the freedom to shape his story himself, there are unfortunately very few of these moments.

Dark Web: Cicada 3301 ©2021 Capelight Pictures

Moreover, the plot is full of logic holes. On the one hand, we accompany Connor and Gwen as they drive from one puzzle to the next, always in new clothes. These sequential errors ensure that the viewers are inevitably pulled out of the plot and realise that one day in the plot was created over several days of filming. Similarly, the supposedly complex puzzles turn out to be hot air. In one of the riddles, the three have to analyse a painting and research the painter, the cultural background of the painting, only to find that there is a very small number on the painting that has to be entered somewhere. Through such resolutions, DARK WEB: CICADA 3301 loses its complete impact.

Far too perfect.

Furthermore, the casting of the two leads is very questionable. Although the film breaks with the cliché of the hoodie-wearing hacker, in DARK WEB: CICADA 3301 the main characters are super smart, insanely good-looking, well-trained and very quick-witted. They are flawless and therefore incredibly uninteresting. Characters like Rami Malek’s Elliot in MR. ROBOT are exciting precisely because they have flaws and seem human. Connor and Gwen, on the other hand, seem aloof and radiate an unpleasant arrogance through their awareness of their abilities. This is not helped by Avi as a funny sidekick, quite the opposite. The role of Ron Funches is the 80s cliché of a homosexual man, he wears flamboyant clothes, is loud and is reduced to his sexuality. Presumably the intention was different, but the realisation of the character is no longer contemporary.

Dark Web: Cicada 3301 ©2021 Capelight Pictures

If all that wasn’t enough, DARK WEB: CICADA 3301 looks like a television series. The environments all feel like studio sets and the camera doesn’t capture big images, instead focusing on the characters in close-up. Perhaps a series that delves deeper into the history of the secret organisation would have been better; because one thing the film definitely manages to do is make you want to know more about Cicada 3301 and what’s behind the mysteries after watching it.

Conclusion

Even though DARK WEB: CICADA 3301 has a very interesting idea, the film unfortunately did not manage to convince me. On the one hand, this is due to the perfect main characters, with whom one cannot identify, and on the other hand to the plot, which wants to be clever, but seems rather dull due to the humour and the strange interpretations of the riddles. If you’re expecting a film that invites you to think in the long term, you’ve come to the wrong place. However, if you are looking for a film that you can watch on a Sunday after a long evening without having to pay too much attention, this might be the right place.

How did you like the movie?
(2 Bewertungen, Durchschnitt: 2,00 von 10)

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