Admittedly, I didn't watch this movie when it came out in the theaters. I wouldn't have understood any of it anyhow, because I didn't begin to learn English until '93 when I moved to the US.
I was in between 6th and 7th grade when I first watched this movie, and it's been my favorite movie ever since. The comedy works even now, 25 years since its release, and I am convinced you can't find a better lead than a young Robert Redford.
I mean, take a look at the cast! Robert Reford, Sidney Portier, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix, and James Earl Jones! It's this amazing cast and their acting prowess that makes this cheesy movie work so well.
PLOT
Two college students, Martin and Cosmo, spend their college years hacking into conservative funds and redistributing it to liberal foundations. Cosmo is aware of the risk and is hesitant, but Martin pushes him to do the actual hacking. They are called "sneakers", a word for hackers. One night, as Martin goes out to grab a pizza, Cosmo is arrested by the police. Martin becomes a fugitive.
Present day, Martin runs a tech-security company with talented, albeit a little strange, team. He's approached by the NSA to steal a black box developed by a mathematician in exchange for clearing his name. Martin takes the deal, and steals the black box. His team opens the box before delivering it, and finds out that it has the algorithm to hack any networks in the world. After a sequence of shocking events, Martin is beaten, kidnapped, and eventually reunited with Cosmo, who has become a powerful criminal through his connections in the prison. He states his desire to create chaos by expanding on what Martin and Cosmo were doing so many years ago using the black box, which he has in his posession, and asks Martin to join him, like the old days. When Martin refuses, Cosmo alerts the Federal Bureau of Martin's whereabouts.
In the aftermath, Martin and his team needs to operate outside the law to not only to save the world but to avoid getting arrested doing it.
Sounds fun, right? Yes, the movie is decidedly political - it keeps picking on the RNC. But it's a fun movie nonetheless, and I highly recommend it!