A wise man once said that with great power comes great responsibility. That statement, however, largely pre-dates the digital era we are currently living in, where it’s anything goes and very few rules are actually enforced.
A former Navy SEAL, Kent Collins (Mike Markoff), is approached by a friend and cyber warfare extraordinaire, Winston (Garon Grigsby), with an intriguing offer—testing a brand new artificial intelligence program for him. When has a premise like this ever ended up backfiring for all those involved?
For all intents and purposes, writer/director Craig Cockerill’s Whisper Breach is a smorgasbord of every science-fiction caper from the past few decades. It’s got a little bit of Upgrade, Blade Runner, and Blackhat (remember that one?), blended together for something that feels oddly familiar, yet altogether quite slick. And for a sci-fi picture that keeps its digitized elements to a bare minimum, that’s quite high praise.
Kent and his girlfriend Sandy (Chelsea Gilson) seem to have it all, surrounded by good friends and a cozy dive trip to look forward to. Yet a devastating incident on that fateful expedition leaves Kent wondering where his life might lead him to next. Enter Winston’s curious case of AI-powered software (nicknamed WP) that somehow, someway can mess with just about anything it pleases. People would kill to get their hands on it, and the film demonstrates more than once why it’s such a force to be reckoned with. It’s around this point in time that the film switches gears from idyllic drama to dark techno thriller in a methodical way, drawing Kent into a shadowy world of deceit.
It would have been easy for Cockerill to fall into the trope-heavy tactics of AI-bashing through surface-level rhetoric, but what we are treated to instead is a story with a surprising level of depth, where the screenplay’s ambitions are never too lofty for what WP and Kent get up to. Sure, the ending could have used some tidying up as far as loose ends go, but for the most part, Cockerill keeps everything in cruise control, from the gorgeous locations to his methodical shot selection. Things are simply where they need to be, with clear narrative intent in mind. The entire ensemble shines on top of that, with well-cast characters led by a confident standout in Markoff.
Whisper Breach’s technocentric thrills are supported by strong acting and overall solid filmmaking, a testament to debuting director Craig Cockerill’s keen understanding of a great story.
