In the brisk neo-noir crime thriller Wardriver, director Rebecca Thomas paints a convincingly hoodlum world where every table is turned with clinical precision. The film stars Dane DeHaan as Cole, a petty scammer who never quite broke through to Hollywood's top echelon as promised in the mid-2010s, but here shows scuzzy self-assurance while constantly kojaking a lollipop.
A Hacker with a Heart of Gold
Cole skims people's security credentials from unsecured wifi networks and empties their bank accounts, operating in a tech-driven criminal underworld. His hot streak ends when restaurant doorman Oscar, played by Mamoudou Athie, gets wise to his schemes. Oscar is a considerably more scary hoodlum who arrives at Cole's home to administer a beatdown, then recruits the geek for a bigger score.
The Triple Cross Heist
Oscar's plan involves fleecing Sarah, a glamorous member of his clientele portrayed by Sasha Calle, who has boasted about $800,000 sitting in her current account. After they successfully siphon off the funds, Cole experiences scammer's remorse when criminally affiliated lawyer Mark, played by Jeffrey Donovan, threatens to kill Sarah if she doesn't return the loot.
Director Rebecca Thomas, who has worked largely in television, essentially rigs up a tale of three interconnected heists. The narrative follows Cole and Oscar's initial score, Cole's subsequent attempt to win everything back, and finally Cole and Sarah turning the tables on the dangerous lawyer Mark.
Streamlined but Shallow
While Thomas executes the switcheroo plot with clinical efficiency, the film remains too streamlined with little character depth in any direction. An innate intrigue surrounds the solitary hacker archetype, but Wardriver isn't inclined to fill in the psychological blanks. The film doesn't attempt to deploy Cole as a stripped-back noir archetype in the manner of Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive, missing opportunities for deeper exploration.
Solid Performances in a Venal World
Dane DeHaan gives Cole a certain nocturnal charm that anchors the film, while Mamoudou Athie delivers a particularly strong performance as the falsely affable, violent opportunist Oscar. Where Wardriver lacks psychological bite, it compensates with a convincingly venal demi-monde that feels authentically criminal in general terms.
Thomas lends the production enough fast-driving attack and romanticised ferment that it might just pass in the darkness for a Michael Mann film. The tech-infused criminal world feels contemporary, with threats like "I'm gonna fucking doxx you" serving as the modern equivalent of traditional noir menaces.
Digital Release and Final Assessment
Wardriver arrives on digital platforms from April 27th, offering viewers a sleek if somewhat superficial entry in the neo-noir genre. The film succeeds in creating a convincingly criminal atmosphere and features solid performances across the board, particularly from Athie as the threatening yet charismatic Oscar.
While the triple-cross plot mechanics function smoothly, the emotional resonance remains limited by the clinical approach to character development. For audiences seeking a brisk, tech-savvy crime thriller with venal atmosphere and competent performances, Wardriver delivers precisely what it promises without attempting to transcend genre conventions.
