10 Most Ridiculous Uses of the Internet in Movies

            If you’re a regular moviegoer and avid web surfer then you’ve probably seen your fair share of films that strain the limits of credibility where the use of the internet is concerned. Some instances may have slipped past the average viewer, but as a proclaimed techie you just had to laugh. The following are 10 of the most ridiculous uses of the internet in movies:

1. Italian Job (2003) – Resident techie cohort Lyle (Seth Green) manages to wreak havoc across the entire downtown Los Angeles traffic signal grid, and all from the comfort of his laptop. Absolutely plausible, this happens all the time.
2. FearDotCom (2002) – This pile of crap would have us believe that a website is capable of killing people just by visiting it. Then again, there’s this, so maybe there’s something to the plot after all.
3. Untraceable (2008) – We sincerely hope we’re not wrong about this, but a movie that is based on a serial killer posting live streaming videos of his victims’ murders online just doesn’t ring true for me. Not just the premise itself, but also the technological mumbo-jumbo that’s meant to make it appear feasible to the average viewer, just doesn’t hold up.
4. AntiTrust (2001) – Another of those ‘let’s just agree that the internet is all-powerful and devise a thin plot around it taking over the entire universe’ movies. Sure, we could conceivably get to a point of technological sophistication wherein the movie’s plot could have some remote credibility. But at least humor us and take the time to describe how that might take place.
5. Tron (1982) – What can you say about this one? It’s a cult classic because of the dazzling (for its time) effects, and our fascination with all things futuristic. But really, a techie getting downsized? In the 1982 economy? We don’t think so.
6. Gamer (2009) – Perhaps it’s premature to think so, but the prospect of society being reduced to one big multi-player online game just seems so, um… Well on second thought …
7. The Net (1995) – It’s difficult to imagine that super-sensitive, top secret information could be encrypted into a web page that is accessible to web users at large, regardless of the combination of keystrokes needed to access it.
8. Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – If you can get past the fact that Keanu Reeves couldn’t manage to make the role of a replacement quarterback believable, let alone this role, you still have to somehow explain another major plot hole. Why would anyone use this ‘droid as a method of data transfer – even in 1995, much less the future, when so many other more reliable (and far better acting) alternatives exist?
9. War Games (1983) – Setting the basic premise aside, that a super-power like the United States could have its entire nuclear arsenal taken over by a teenager simply by dialing into a publicly accessible modem, this movie is just so very believable.
10. Enemy of the State (1998) – For the record, we love Gene Hackman and Will Smith both, and really liked the movie. The thing is this movie just gives far too much credit to Big Brother and all of his technological capabilities. If you’re willing to allow – or openly assume – that such capabilities exist, then the movie does a better than average job in selling its message – namely, that “the only privacy left is inside your head”.