NetForce (1999)

Internet becomes the world's central nervous system. Netforce, FBI, is created as an elite force fighting crime on internet. The owner of the all dominating software company is suspected of trying to gain total access and control.

Director:

Robert Lieberman

Writers:

Tom Clancy (story), Steve Pieczenik (story)

Stars:

Scott Bakula, Joanna Going, Xander Berkeley

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scott Bakula	...	Alex Michaels
Joanna Going	...	Toni Fiorelli
Xander Berkeley	...	Bo Tyler
Brian Dennehy	...	Lowell Davidson
Kris Kristofferson	...	Steve Day
CCH Pounder	...	Sandra Knight
Judge Reinhold	...	Will Stiles
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa	...	Leong Cheng
Chelsea Field	...	Megan Michaels
Sterling Macer Jr.	...	Col. John Howard (as Sterling Macer)
Paul Hewitt	...	Jay Gridley
Frank Vincent	...	Johnny Stompato
Sam Anderson	...	Fox
Kirk Baltz
Alexa PenaVega	...	Susan 'Susie' Michaels (as Alexa Vega)

Storyline

Set in the year 2005, a division of the FBI, called "NetForce" has been initiated to investigate Internet crime. A Bill Gates-type character finds a loophole in his new web browser which enables him to gain control of the Internet. Net-Force, headed by Kristofferson and Bakula's characters set out to stop him.

---

Plot Keywords:

woman wearing a gas mask | the white house | washington monument washington d.c. | internet | fbi | 

---

Taglines:

Virtual crime. Real punishment. [book series tagline]

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Netforce

Filming Locations:

Colonial Heights, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cates/Doty Productions, Greengrass Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot of this movie is loosely based on the first book of the Netforce series. However, it foreshadows character relationships that would not happen until later Netforce books.

---

Quotes

Jay Gridley: Good morning Vietnam!

---

Connections

References Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

User Reviews

High tech and fun...

In the year 2005, not to far in the future, computer will be dominant in society. Those who can handle them will control the world. However, power like this can slip into the wrong hands. That's where Netforce comes in.

The FBI has established a team known as Netforce, a division that specializes in internet crime. Heading up the team is Commander Steve Day (Kris Kristoferson), followed by Deputy Commander Alexander "Alex" Michaels (Scott Bakula). When Day dies under unusual circumstances, Alex is given the Commander post, and appoints Toni Fiorella (Joanna Going) as his Deputy Commander, or Dep. Comm. Also on board is Jay Gridley (Paul Hewitt) a virtual reality whiz kid and his team, and Colonel John Howard, who heads up the military branch of Netforce. The team is on the case of a Bill Gates-esque computer genius named Will Stiles (Judge Reinhold). IT's up to Alex and his team of computer geniuses to stop his crimes.

The film, though it looks like a television movie (I know it is, you just can't shake that feeling) is really well-done. The action scenes are pretty fast-paced, and the plot is easy to follow. To me, it wasn't too predictable, and was able to withstand the test of time (2 hrs and 40 min). Scott Bakula, one of my favorite performers, never has ceased to amaze me in his work (ok, fine--I didn't like "Lord of Illusions"). I found him particularly appealable, much different from how the novel describes Alex Michaels (lady-wooer). Bakula embodies that typical average-guy look that I love, and those biceps and pecs in the tigh t-shirts drove me wild. Joanna Going, as Toni, was also great, and comes from a typical Italian family (I'm Italian, so the dinner scene interested me). I've never seen her in films before, but I'm sure I just haven't looked. I actually didn't really know who Scott Bakula was until I stumbled on "Quantum Leap" last September. Chelsea Field was wonderful as Alex's ex-wife Megan Michaels (in the novel, Megan is a pompus b**ch, in the film, she is actually very civil to Alex). You can see they get along ok, a departure from the books. Jay Gridley is EXACTLY what I expected, not too nerdy looking, but certainly smart (the part in the VR Brothel was hysterical). What really suprised me was Judege Reinhold, as Will Stiles. How much weight did he gain to play this part?? Jeez, he looks like an evil Bill Gates here after letting himself go.

My favorite line from this film was when Alex met his new driver and told him he was perfectly capable of driving himself, at least till that day. When the driver kept saying sir to him, Alex asked him if he could make a suggestion, the driver said "Sir yes sir" and alex said "Lighten up." You don't get much more comic timing than that. Bakula actually had some really funny lines, but you gotta break the tension somewhere. My favorite scenes were the action scenes, particularly Alex's fight with the paid femme fatale.

This is a great film with a great plot, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish I saw more positive comments on this movie, because it was outstanding. Acting was good on all parts and the storyline was fun. I'm reading "Netforce: Nightmoves" (3rd in series) now, so seeing this film was a real treat.

Who said computer technology can't make a good movie?