Wardriver (2026) 

Wardriver (2026) 

The synopsis reads: “A crime thriller in which conscience plays as important a role as the plot, this film follows a hacker forced to make disastrous choices after crossing paths with the wrong people. Dane DeHaan brings a poignant vulnerability to the story, whilst Mamoudou Athie and Sasha Calle complicate his path towards redemption or ruin. Tense and effective, this drama derives its suspense from consequences rather than explosions. No regional restrictions.” I read this after seeing the film!

I wasn’t particularly keen to see it to begin with. On top of that, seeing that Dane DeHaan was the lead actor put me off. Not that I don’t like him, but he’s rarely in films I enjoy. No, I didn’t like Chronicle (2012), nor Marc Webb’s two Amazing Spider-Man films. I haven’t seen The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) yet, but he doesn’t have a leading role in it. I haven’t seen Tulip Fever (2017) or Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) either. The Stranger (2020) was quite decent, but my favourite really is A Cure for Wellness (2016).

Here, he’s true to form and just does what he’s supposed to do. Nothing more. He always looks so tired!

The director, Rebecca Thomas, also made Electrick Children (2012), which stars… Billy Zane! Another actor whose films I consider to be rubbish, apart from Titanic (1997) and _Dead Calm (1989). Well, I won’t be too harsh and say that The Roommate (2011) was all right. I’ve never seen The Phantom (1996), but I just can’t picture Billy as a superhero at all. Anyway!

Wardriver doesn’t have a story that interested me, nor a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat, nor incredible direction, nor an engaging pace.

Calling this feature film a crime thriller is laughable. Rebecca Thomas has churned out a film, sure, but she’s just done her homework. No flashes of genius or originality. She must have thought, ‘I can be a director too!’ whilst proving that… well, no, not everyone can do it! There’s a reason we have our favourites and would rather see the others in a different line of work. So, I’ve got nothing against Rebecca in particular, and it’s true that she’s bearing the brunt of my anger and disappointment today. But I love cinema so much that I find it a shame not to pay it tribute, to respect it, and instead to treat it so superficially.

So, admittedly, it tackles the modern hacking-style thriller, with a main character who is literally constantly connected to other people’s networks. A tense and devious crime thriller where the Wi-Fi scam turns into a fascinating game of deception. But I quickly found myself bored. Nothing particularly gripping.

Sasha Calle, the queer actress, has incredible charisma. But she doesn’t make the most of it either! She was in the soap opera The Young and the Restless for three years and her first feature film was The Flash (2023)! One of my favourite superheroes, but in a dud of a film. In it, she played Kara Zor-El – a brunette Supergirl. But she won’t be the one who made the biggest impression on me.

I could say that, in this film, it’s actually her beauty that stands out. Not really her acting. Yet there are a few moments where she acts really well. But nothing that makes you want to watch her entire filmography.

Despite a few brief highlights, I didn’t really enjoy this film. It felt long to me, but I’ll soon forget it. Nothing incredible, not even in the plot twists.

The ending isn’t too bad, and the fourth wall is broken once again in the final scene. The list of these films is getting longer!