Tom Clancy Week: NetForce

Welcome back avid readers to Day 4 of Tom Clancy Week.  Because of this man 20 years of gaming via computer and console systems thus making several FPS fans happy as could be with titles such as: Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, EndWar and H.A.W.X. to name a few.  So the small screen was the next logical choice and kids we have a decent TV Movie on our hands.  So shoo the dog off the couch, plunk your feet on the ottoman and have a healthy snack.  This is Netforce.

You ain't payin me enough for this role.

Jay Gridley: Good Morning Spoilers!!!

Set in the far away time of THE YEAR 2005!!!...A new division of the FBI has been dubbed NetForce, a investigations team monitoring the policies and practices of the Internet as well as keeps tabs on computer crime of any sort.   Alex Michaels (Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Informant!, Chuck and Men of a Certain Age) has been named Deputy Director of NetForce following succession of his boss and mentor Steve Day (Kris Kristofferson of Convoy, Songwriter, Stagecoach, Blade and Bloodworth) who was assassinated for an ongoing investigation. 

Cable companies...OF THE FUTURE!!!

As our NetForce begins to dig into Day’s findings there seem to be more than a fair share of clues that Web pioneer and owner of Januscorp Will Stiles (Judge Reinhold of Fast Time at Ridgemont High, Beverly Hills Cop, Vice Versa, Zandalee and The Santa Clause) may have been the cause.  Unbeknownst to our valiant computer crew, Stiles has developed a web browser that allows him to bypass all forms of encryption and hack into any computer in the world and gain complete and utter control of the Internet.

Michaels and his team on hot on the case looking for Stiles and looking forward to uploading a little justice.

Take that, Bill Gates!!

Okay, yes this is the part where I am going to nitpick just a bit.   The events around the technology are a bit laughable in how the internet was completely hooked to every major system…with no redundancy or safety protrocols and heck why have anyone monitor those systems?  For crying out loud Net Nanny has better security than this fictious world.  Lines like “Phew the Internet is still intact!” made me grind my teeth.   Veteran character actor Brian Dennehy’s performance seemed flaccid and ineffectual to Bakula’s take charge attitude.

The Lex Luthor wannabe portrayal that Reinhold is trying to pan off on us of the evil billionaire trying to take over the world feels made for cartoon rather than TV and boy oh boy they sure skimped on the technical aspect and most action sequences revolve around the computer room…but no proper jargon or explanation. 

Coach slugs and deeply devoted Tom Clancy fans were probably ecstatic with this rather impressive cast of characters but most felt like they were foisted on us.  The effects were fair and incidental music was spot on…boy it has come to this.  Main problem was all these secondary characters tossed in a large embankment of computers and cubicles to I guess look busy and on the job when they didn’t get any real development or characterization.  Just a name on a plastic badge getting the cliché, “Dammit, Johnson we need everyone on top of this,” speech. 

In case you forgot the title of the TV movie.