‘Blackhat’ trailer: Chris Hemsworth is a pistol-packing hacker

Hey, what’s Thor doing sitting at a computer terminal? Saving the day, of course.

Chris Hemsworth, best known for his role as an Asgardian superhero in Marvel’s “Thor” and “Avengers” movies, has traded his hammer for a keyboard in the first trailer for Michael Mann’s techno-thriller “Blackhat.”

In the video, which you can watch above, Hemsworth plays Nicholas Hathaway, a genius coder, MIT alum and convicted hacker serving a 15-year sentence. When the feds realize he’s also the only guy who can help them stop a mysterious cyber-villain from knocking over banks and melting down nuclear reactors, they spring Hathaway and give him a chance to get his sentence commuted.

Scheduled for release Jan. 16 from Universal, the Legendary-produced film also stars Viola Davis, Leehom Wang and John Ortiz.

From the looks of things, “Blackhat” will tap into contemporary unease about the threat of cyber-terrorism while also touching on some of Mann’s pet themes, such as the blurred boundary separating cops and criminals and the personal and professional costs of dedicating one’s life to work.

The film also promises to come packaged in Mann’s well-known aesthetic, with glittering cityscapes, moody music and, yes, even some tense gun battles. After all, you can’t expect an action star to do all his world-saving from behind a desk.

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