In the year 2005, computers run the world. A curly-haired Bill Gates clone has linked up with the Mafia. A new Web browser will let him control everything, and the police are helpless.
There's one man who can thwart this nefarious scheme: Alex Michaels, played by Quantum Leap's Scott Bakula.
Michaels' problem? His reporter ex-wife mocks him on national TV. A 6-foot blonde assassin is on his trail. And, oh yes, as the new commander of the FBI's NetForce, it's his job to save the world.
What comes next on Tom Clancy's NetForce, airing Monday and Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST on ABC, is a predictable romp through murder and mayhem, spiced by a generous dose of geeky gadgetry and Internet skullduggery.
At the heart of the deviltry is Will Stiles (played by Judge Reinhold), whose JanusCorp company is welding its Web browser into everything from PCs to watches. Stiles -- whose Web page boasts his apprenticeship under Bill Gates -- defends it as good for consumers.
In a tip-o'-the-hat replay of the real-life Gates' testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee last year, senators grill Stiles about hurting competitors by including a browser.
"Your competitors just want the chance to offer their own browsers to the public on an equal basis with you," growls one congressman.
"I want to install the new Janus Web browser as an integral part of the operating system at no added cost to the consumer," Stiles cockily replies.
Did he write this memo? "I don't recall," Stiles claims.
The film echoes common themes: the vulnerability of networked computers, the potential anonymity of the Internet, our uncertainty about becoming more reliant on technology. Many scenes strain credulity, so be prepared for more than a few technical inaccuracies.
For instance, when Michaels needs help understanding the nature of the Internet, he turns to an unlikely source: his former boss, Steve Day (played by Kris Kristofferson), who has been killed in a car bomb. NetForce runs Day's notes and archived files through some custom software and -- presto! -- out comes a "construct," a computer-generated image who invites Michaels to his "Web page" and warns that technology has "advanced faster than our ability to police it."
In a computer-generated blackout scene that's sure to leave hardcore Y2Kers panting for more, Stiles' nerd brigade burrows into NetForce computers and pulls the plug. Gibberish scrolls across the screens of the WarGames-like command room, while computer failures crash instant lotteries, blood banks, and airplanes.
NetForce gets caught in one of these computer-caused traffic jam, which makes us wonder why the Feds' top cops can't afford helicopters.
And what would a Net flick be without the obligatory virt-sex scene? While puzzling out who the bad guys are, the NetForce team remembers to "not forget the virtual sex brothels," where you pay by the minute with your credit card for the services of lingerie-clad lovelies.
Michaels' girlfriend and deputy NetForce commander ventures online to ferret out some info from the geek-boys who hang out in a biker bar talking tough about "megamodems of compression."
"I'm going to start nosing around some high-tech chat rooms," says willowy Toni Fiorelli (Joanna Going). She learns of a plan to bring down the Internet by squashing its satellite choke points.
Be prepared for dismissive sneering -- especially during the opening scenes -- at civil libertarians nervous about handing the government expanded police powers.
"Too many people think that computer crime is a game played by nerdy youngsters on home computers. But the truth is a great deal different. Today's most cruel and ruthless criminals use the Net," warns the director of the FBI -- who nearly echoes real-life FBI director Louis Freeh's warnings to Congress and demands for a ban on unapproved encryption.
"The Internet's been a boon to organized crime. I mean, what tool could get them better organized?" gripes another NetForce official.
