5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Genius hacker Conner discovers Cicada 3301, an online treasure hunt that could be a recruiting tool for a secret society. Soon Conner, art-expert friend Avi, and secretive librarian Gwen are dashing from graffiti sites to ancient libraries to uncover real-world clues. But they must outrun aggressive NSA agents, also hot on the trail of Cicada, who want the glory for themselves.
Starring: Avaah Blackwell, Alan Ritchson, Kris Holden-Ried, Jess Salgueiro, Ron FunchesThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
If something is pretty widely known to a large segment of at least one demographic of the public, can it truly be called "hidden" on the so-called "dark web"? Now, I am unashamed to admit that if the real life news of Cicada 3301 ever crossed my feed, I promptly forgot about it, but both of my millennial sons instantly knew quite a bit about the supposed organization that intrigued codebreakers by posting online (and other media) puzzles that were ostensibly near impossible to crack. Rumors soon grew that the entire enterprise was a convoluted recruiting tool for operations like the NSA or even the Masons. (The latter brings to mind an actual recurrent social media job offering that kind of hilariously has shown up for me repeatedly, urging me to come work for the Illuminati.) Dark Web: Cicada 3301 concerns a bartender named Connor (Jack Kesy) who also just happens to be a math and code savant with an eidetic memory (of course) who stumbles on the whole Cicada 3301 phenomenon when he's busy hacking various aspects of the ID of a customer at his bar who had been rude to one of his waitresses. Most of the story is told courtesy of flashbacks as Connor testifies before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and part of what at least initially gives this film some comedic energy is that Connor is most definitely an "unreliable narrator". He seems especially intent on making a gaggle of NSA agents who are on the prosecution side of the case (one of whom is played by co-writer and director Alan Ritchson) look like idiots, and so the supposed flashbacks often careen off into ludicrous sidebars, some of which are admittedly funny. However, Dark Web: Cicada 3301 goes a bit too gonzo for its own good, and about halfway through the film, things start to segue from baseline amusement to annoyance.
Dark Web: Cicada 3301 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. This is another contemporary outing whose technical data points are nowhere to be found on the dark web or even the light web, at least insofar as I can tell. I'm assuming this was a digitally captured production that had a 2K DI. The results are frequently appealing looking, with generally nice detail levels and an often well saturated palette. Fine detail can be expressive, including on things like the natty suit jacket Funches is first seen in. CGI work is also decently done, though some of it is probably intentionally hokey looking, as in some supposed "holographs" that Connor encounters when he finally makes it to that well known annual event, the Cicada 3301 Masquerade Ball. Most of the court scenes are subtly graded toward blue tones, but much of the rest of the presentation looks natural.
Dark Web: Cicada 3301 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track the provides bursts of surround energy in scenes like the opening fracas that includes an explosion, or notably the big party sequence that provides the climax to the story. A lot of the film tends to play out in simpler dialogue scenes, and while there is at least occasional engagement of the side and rear channels, typically for ambient environmental effects, many of these scenes tend to keep things front and center. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout, and there are also optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles available.
One data point that did make it to online sources is the fact that the Dark Web part of the film's title was evidently added later, something that is pretty obvious even from the way the credits are structured. That may have been to alert the uninformed (like yours truly) as to the provenance of the rest of the film's title, but like so much else in this production, it just seems random and kind of unnecessary. Fans of the film's cast or those with an interest in the real story of Cicada 3301 may find some intermittent enjoyment here. Technical merits are generally solid for those who are considering a purchase.
Class of Fear / MVD Rewind Collection
1990
1973
1974
Limited to 1000 Copies
1976
1977
1974
1989
Who Dares Wins
1982
1967
Collector's Edition
1974
1983
1971
1979
1996
1970
1995
2017
1989
2023
2021