MICHAEL Mann is known for his slick and stylish crime films.

The Heat and Collateral director's work is renowned for giving a sense of what it is like to live and operate on both sides of the law.

His films are tense and atmospheric too, usually set in a brooding cityscape.

So where was all that in Blackhat?

Mann's cybercrime thriller, about a hacker who causes a disaster at a Hong Kong nuclear plant and crashes the financial market, may be more relevant than ever in the age we are living in today.

But the plot and its themes do not suit Mann's high-octane storytelling style.

Blackhat follows a joint operation between China's cyber warfare unit and United States' FBI to hunt the cyber criminals before they strike again.

But the team's investigation hinges on the assistance of convicted hacker and computer genius Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth).

The film seems to plod along at times as if Mann is anxiously waiting for the few and far between action scenes to unfold.

Whereas if it was directed differently the thrill could have – and probably should have – been in the mysterious, murky cyber world.

Mann tries to get inventive with scenes showing information flowing along networks. They are well meant but they do not really add anything to the experience.

And although a great actor, Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the Marvel films, is poorly cast as hacker Nicholas Hathaway.

Buff, bold and undaunted by brawls and bullets, he is a most unlikely computer nerd.