Dark Web: Cicada 3301

Last updated

Dark Web: Cicada 3301
Dark web cicada 3301.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Alan Ritchson
Written by
  • Alan Ritchson
  • Joshua Montcalm
Produced by
  • Alan Ritchson
  • DJ Viola
  • Carl Beyer
  • Mark Bach
Starring
CinematographyMichael Galbraith
Edited byMarc Bach
Music bySergei Stern
Production
company
AllyCat Entertainment
Distributed by Lionsgate Films
Release date
  • March 12, 2021 (2021-03-12)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Dark Web: Cicada 3301 is an action-comedy thriller film directed by Alan Ritchson, in his directorial debut, who co-wrote the script with Joshua Montcalm. Inspired by the eponymous organization, it stars Jack Kesy, Conor Leslie, Ron Funches, and Ritchson. Kesy portrays a hacker who participates in Cicada's recruitment game while evading the NSA.

Contents

The film was released digitally by Lionsgate Films on March 12, 2021.

Plot

Arrested by the NSA for his involvement with the secretive organization Cicada 3301, hacker Connor testifies in front of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court about the events that transpired. Connor explains that 29 days earlier, he inadvertently found the organization's recruitment game, which requires participants to solve a series of puzzles in order to join. Strong-armed by the NSA to help them shut down Cicada, Connor takes part in the game alongside Gwen, a librarian seeking to be recruited, and his best friend Avi. The three succeed in finding clues from the puzzles, but after nearly being killed by another group of participants, Gwen and Avi drop out. Connor, however, continues the game and eventually causes a massive power outage, earning him an invitation to Cicada's private party in England.

Recognizing Cicada intends to bring chaos to the world, Connor informs Gwen and Avi that he intends to stop the organization at the party, prompting them to join him. The infiltration goes awry, resulting in Connor and Gwen being captured by Cicada's leader, Phillip Dubois. Dubois, who defends the organization as bringing equality to an unjust world, reveals Gwen is a treasonous NSA agent pursuing amnesty through 399 Cicada. Connor escapes after killing Dubois' guards, but as a result of Gwen being shot, she provides Connor with a USB drive to obtain the information Cicada holds. Confronted by Connor, Dubois confesses he is an actor following orders from Cicada and was unaware anyone would be harmed. As the NSA storms the building, Connor succeeds in downloading the information before being knocked unconscious in his escape attempt, while the agents kill Dubois.

At the conclusion of Connor's testimony, the judges find fault in the NSA's tactics, but also inform Connor that he has incriminated himself in several felonies. However, Connor reveals he was stalling the court with his testimony so he would be able to start leaking the private documents that he downloaded. Connor threatens to continue leaking information unless he receives $1 million for each document and Avi is released from custody. His extortion successful, Connor uses his new finances to assist others. He receives a message from Gwen, who is now a member of Cicada.

Cast

Featured on the film's United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court are Victoria Snow as Judge Mary Collins, Marvin Karon as Judge Bates, and Rothaford Gray as Judge Walters. In Connor's apartment, Alyssa Cheatham portrays young tenant Sophia, Quancetia Hamilton portrays Sophia's mother, and Anselmo DeSousa portrays landlord Mr. Costa. Tori, a waitress at Connor's bar, is played by Linnea Currie-Roberts. Al Sapienza plays NSA Agent Mike Croft and Benjamin Sutherland appears as William, a bar patron who gets hacked by Connor.

At Avi's college, Ron Mustafaa plays a library clerk and Zane O'Connor plays a security guard. Jess Salgueiro portrays Shauna, a young woman who encounters Avi at the Cicada party. Jake Michaels and Hanneke Talbot, who appeared on the series Titans alongside Leslie, Ritchson, and Sanelli, portray the lookout for the NSA team and a hologram of an Ancient Greek woman, respectively. Michael T. Burgess appears as one of the deer-masked assailants participating in the recruitment game. Connor's father is portrayed by Patrick Garrow.

Production

Dark Web: Cicada 3301 was announced in 2018 as the first original project of Phreaker Films, a film fund run by Alan Ritchson. The fund was established through a partnership between Ritchson's AllyCat Entertainment and Marina Acton, a Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist. [1] Originally entitled Cicada 3301, it is inspired by the eponymous organization that posted a set of puzzles to recruit codebreakers from the public on three occasions. [2]

The film is the directorial debut of Ritchson, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Joshua Montcalm and appears in a supporting role as an NSA agent. [3] Ritchson wrote the original screenplay by himself, but contacted Montcalm for re-writes due to being dissatisfied with it. After writing the script, Ritchson intended to play the lead role until he decided to become the director. [4]

Filming began in June 2018 in Toronto. [1] Dark Web: Cicada 3301 features Ritchson alongside Conor Leslie, who both appeared on the superhero television series Titans , although the two had not worked together prior to the film. [5] [4]

Release

The rights to Dark Web: Cicada 3301 were acquired by Lionsgate Films in 2020, [3] who released the film digitally on March 12, 2021. [5] [6] Home media releases were distributed by Lionsgate on March 16, 2021. [5] [6]

Reception

Film Threat reviewer Alan Ng gave the film a positive review, describing it as "a pretty cool action thriller". While disliking that it did not offer a serious depiction of the Cicada 3301 phenomenon, Ng praised the action sequences and the performances. [7] The film received three stars out of five from Brian Costello of Common Sense Media, who called it "an action-comedy that somehow manages to be engaging despite all the clichés" and "enjoyable enough for a lazy weekend afternoon". [8]

Giving the film a C−, Josh Bell of Crooked Marquee found the material "incoherent" and criticized the humor as "vulgar". [9] Similar criticisms were shared by Joel Copling of Spectrum Culture, who concluded that Dark Web: Cicada 3301 "is mostly interested in overwhelming us with a lot of plot that is impossible to follow and characters who are impossible to like". [10]

Farid-ul-Haq of The Geekiary recommended the film for its characters, themes, and humor, although he found that the narrative could have been expanded. [11] Android Police reviewer Cody Toombs called the film "a great ride with plenty of laughs, intrigue, action, and most importantly, characters", commenting that he wanted the project as "a TV series rather than a standalone film, or at least it should lead to some sequels" to see more of the characters played by Jack Kesy, Conor Leslie, and Ron Funches. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wonder Girl</span> Alias of multiple DC Comics superheroines

Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. Donna Troy, the original Wonder Girl, was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #60. The second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark, was created by John Byrne and first appeared in Wonder Woman #105. Both are protégées of Wonder Woman and members of different incarnations of the Teen Titans. The alias has also been used in reference to a younger version of Wonder Woman as a teenager. In the 2020s, DC introduced a third Wonder Girl in Yara Flor, who hails from a Brazilian tribe of Amazons and was shown in a flashforward to one day succeed Diana as Wonder Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hank Hall</span> Fictional DC comics superhero

Hank Hall is a fictional character that appears in DC Comics. He first appeared in Showcase #75 as Hawk of Hawk and Dove. After that, he became known as Extant, and appeared in the limited series Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, as well as some related tie-ins. Long after that, he became the supervillain Monarch in the crossover event limited series Armageddon 2001. Hawk has appeared in numerous television shows and films. He appeared in his first live-action adaptation in the television series Titans, played by Alan Ritchson in the first, second, and third seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Night Gwen Stacy Died</span> 1973 story arc of The Amazing Spider-Man

"The Night Gwen Stacy Died", alternatively known as "The Green Goblin's Last Stand", is a story arc of the Marvel Comics comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man #121–122. The two-issue story was written by Gerry Conway, with pencil art by Gil Kane and inking by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Ritchson</span> American actor (born 1982)

Alan Michael Ritchson is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Aquaman / Arthur Curry on The CW superhero series Smallville (2005–2010), where he appeared as a guest star between the fifth and tenth seasons. Ritchson had a starring role in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State (2010–2012), a role he reprised in the 2016 film sequel. He also headlined the SyFy action series Blood Drive (2017), and returned to superhero television as Hank Hall / Hawk on the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans from 2018 to 2021. He gained wider recognition for portraying the title character in the Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Reacher since 2022.

Blue Mountain State is an American television sitcom that premiered on Spike on January 11, 2010. The series was created by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, and produced by Lionsgate Television. The series is about a fictitious university, Blue Mountain State, and its football team, the "Mountain Goats". It portrays certain aspects of American university life, including college football, sex, binge drinking, drugs, wild partying, and hazing. Over the years, due in large part to being streamable on Netflix, the series has developed a cult following.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cicada 3301</span> Internet puzzle and mystery

Cicada 3301 is a nickname given to three sets of puzzles posted under the name "3301" online between 2012 and 2014. The first puzzle started on January 2, 2012, on 4chan and ran for nearly a month. A second round of puzzles began one year later on January 4, 2013, and then a third round following the confirmation of a fresh clue posted on Twitter on January 4, 2014. The third puzzle has yet to be solved. The stated intent was to recruit "intelligent individuals" by presenting a series of puzzles to be solved; no new puzzles were published on January 4, 2015. A new clue was posted on Twitter on January 5, 2016. Cicada 3301 posted their last verified OpenPGP-signed message in April 2017, denying the validity of any unsigned puzzle.

The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. Since the introduction of Peter Parker as a character in 1962, with the superhero alter-ego, Spider-Man, a number of these locations have been prominently featured in connection with storylines specific to this character. These have then been carried over to depictions of Spider-Man in film, video games, and other media. There follows a list of those features.

Vertigo Entertainment is an American film and television production company based in Los Angeles, founded in 2001 by Roy Lee and Doug Davison.

<i>Justice League vs. Teen Titans</i> 2016 animated film directed by Sam Liu

Justice League vs. Teen Titans is a 2016 American animated superhero film directed by Sam Liu from a screenplay by Alan Burnett and Bryan Q. Miller. It is the 26th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the seventh film in the DC Animated Movie Universe. The film features the voices of Stuart Allan, Jon Bernthal, Taissa Farmiga, and Jason O'Mara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conor Leslie</span> American actress (born 1991)

Conor Marie Leslie is an American actress. Beginning her career in the late 2000s, her first major role was in the thriller film Chained (2012). She has worked frequently on television, including as a series regular on the Discovery Channel historical Western Klondike (2014), the Yahoo! Screen science fiction comedy Other Space (2015), and the Fox crime drama Shots Fired (2017). From 2015 to 2018, she also appeared on the first three seasons of the Amazon Prime Video alternate history thriller The Man in the High Castle. Leslie gained further prominence for portraying Donna Troy / Wonder Girl on the DC Universe / HBO Max superhero series Titans (2018–2021) and was part of the main cast during the second and third seasons.

Victoria Snow is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her recurring roles as Mary Margaret Skalany in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues and Dee White in Cra$h & Burn, and her starring role as Frances Hunter in Paradise Falls.

<i>Titans</i> (2018 TV series) 2018 American superhero television series

Titans is an American superhero television series created by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, and Greg Berlanti. Based on the DC Comics superhero team Teen Titans, the series depicts a group of young heroes who join forces in their fight against evil. Featured as members of the eponymous Titans are Dick Grayson, Kory Anders, Rachel Roth, Gar Logan, Jason Todd, Donna Troy, Hank Hall, Dawn Granger, Rose Wilson, Conner Kent, and Tim Drake.

<i>Titans</i> season 1 2018 season of American TV series

The first season of the American superhero streaming television series Titans premiered on DC Universe on October 12, 2018, and concluded on December 21, consisting of 11 episodes. It was executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Greg Walker, with Walker serving as showrunner. Created by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans. Featured in the main cast are Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and Ryan Potter. The season also introduces Alan Ritchson, Minka Kelly, Curran Walters, and Conor Leslie, who would join the main cast in the following season. The first season marks the live-action debut of the Teen Titans, as well as the launch of DC Universe's original scripted programming.

<i>Titans</i> season 2 2019 season of American TV series

The second season of the American superhero streaming television series Titans premiered on DC Universe on September 6, 2019, and concluded on November 29, consisting of 13 episodes. It was executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Greg Walker, with Walker serving as showrunner for the second consecutive season. Created by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans. Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, and Ryan Potter return to the main cast from the previous season, joined by season 1 guest stars Curran Walters, Conor Leslie, Minka Kelly, and Alan Ritchson and series newcomers Chelsea Zhang, Joshua Orpin, and Esai Morales. The season also introduces Damaris Lewis, who would join the main cast in the following season. It is the only season to feature Zhang and Morales.

<i>Reacher</i> (TV series) American TV series

Reacher is an American action crime television series developed by Nick Santora for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child, it stars Alan Ritchson as the title character, a self-proclaimed hobo and former U.S. Army military policeman with formidable strength, intellect, and abilities. During his travels, Reacher crosses paths with dangerous criminals and is forced to do battle.

Peter Parker (<i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> film series) 2012–2014 Spider-Man film series and Marvel Cinematic Universe character

Peter Benjamin Parker, also known by his alias Spider-Man, is a fictional character and the protagonist of Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man film series. Adapted from the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name, he is portrayed by Andrew Garfield and appears in the films The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, as well as being a supporting character in the Marvel Studios film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appearing as a slightly older version of himself alongside two alternate versions of himself from the wider multiverse.

<i>Titans</i> season 3 2021 season of American TV series

The third season of the American superhero streaming television series Titans premiered on HBO Max on August 12, 2021, and concluded on October 21, consisting of 13 episodes. It was executive produced by Akiva Goldsman, Geoff Johns, Greg Walker, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and Richard Hatem, with Walker serving as showrunner for the third consecutive season. Developed by Goldsman, Johns, and Berlanti, the series is based on the DC Comics team Teen Titans. Brenton Thwaites, Anna Diop, Teagan Croft, Ryan Potter, Conor Leslie, Curran Walters, Joshua Orpin, Minka Kelly, and Alan Ritchson return to the main cast from the previous season, joined by season 2 guest star Damaris Lewis and series newcomers Savannah Welch and Vincent Kartheiser. The season also introduces Jay Lycurgo, who would join the main cast the following season. It is the final season to feature longtime cast members Leslie, Kelly, and Ritchson, the final to feature Lewis, and the only to feature Welch and Kartheiser.

<i>Ordinary Angels</i> (film) 2024 film by Jon Gunn

Ordinary Angels is a 2024 American faith-based drama film. Directed by Jon Gunn and written by Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig, it is based on true events that transpired during the 1994 North American cold wave. It stars Hilary Swank, Alan Ritchson, Nancy Travis, and Tamala Jones.

<i>The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare</i> 2024 film by Guy Ritchie

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a 2024 spy action comedy film directed, co-written and co-produced by Guy Ritchie, and starring Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding and Alex Pettyfer. Based on the 2014 book Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII by Damien Lewis, the film portrays a heavily fictionalised version of Operation Postmaster.

References

  1. 1 2 Hipes, Patrick (March 6, 2018). "Phreaker Films Launches With Silicon Valley VC Cash; Alan Ritchson To Run It". Deadline. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  2. ↑ "The internet mystery that has the world baffled". The Daily Telegraph . November 25, 2013. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 10, 2020). "Grindstone Acquires Alan Ritchson's Comedy-Thriller 'Cicada 3301'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Alan Ritchson Strips Down, Recruits Titans Costar Conor Leslie for Directorial Debut (Exclusive)". TooFab. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Adams, Tim (January 13, 2021). "Dark Web: Cicada 3301 Red-Band Trailer Recruits Titans Stars (Exclusive)". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Price, Jason (January 14, 2021). "'Dark Web: Cicada 3301' – Cyber-Thriller Starring Alan Ritchson Hits Digital and On Demand March 12!". Icon Vs. Icon. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  7. ↑ Ng, Alan (March 12, 2021). "Dark Web: Cicada 3301". Film Threat . Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ Costello, Brian (March 13, 2021). "Dark Web: Cicada 3301". Common Sense Media . Retrieved March 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ Bell, Josh (March 8, 2021). "VODepths: What to See (and Avoid) On Demand This Week". Crooked Marquee. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  10. ↑ Copling, Joel (March 16, 2021). "Dark Web: Cicada 3301". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  11. ↑ ul Haq, Farid (March 12, 2021). ""Dark Web: Cicada 3301" Delivers An Intriguing Cyber Mystery/Comedy – Movie Review". The Geekiary. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  12. ↑ Toombs, Cody (March 12, 2021). "All the new movies and early theater releases you can watch at home right now". Android Police. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.