I.T. Trailer (2016)

Trailer for I.T., starring Pierce Brosnan, James Frecheville and Anna Friel.

Mike Regan has everything he could ever want, a beautiful family and a top of the line smart house. The company he owns is on the verge of changing flight leasing forever. That is, until the relationship with his closest advisor turns nasty, to the point where his teenage daughter is being stalked and his family is under attack through every technological facet of their lives.

This thriller had a bit of a bumpy road when it came to getting production rolling. Pierce Brosnan joined the cast way back in 2013, with Stefano Sollima set to direct. Nearly a year later it was announced that not only was Sollima dropping off the project, but the replacement director, John Moore, had convinced Voltage Pictures to hire scribe William Wisher to overhaul the script.

Things fell back on track in April, 2015 when Stefanie Scott became the next big casting update. Soon after Anna Friel and James Frecheville came aboard so shooting could begin. After years of waiting, the filming took less than a month.

If you can't place your finger on the "tech guy" in I.T., that is James Frecheville. The actor had a breakout role in the terrific Australian crime thriller Animal Kingdom.

Any time you have a film dealing with hacking and technology, it's hard not to come across as slightly goofy or over the top. Hence my surprise when the trailer for I.T. pitched something that, besides the plane hacking threat, seemed somewhat realistic.

I am liking the cast, but was surprised to see that Anna Friel and Michael Nyqvist, both familiar faces, are pretty much left out of the preview. With what looks to be a limited release, showing castmembers that people recognize can help draw some attention to the feature. But instead I.T. looks all about Pierce Brosnan's Mike Regan and James Frecheville's Ed Porter. It's fine, as both seem perfectly comfortable in their roles, though I can't get over how strange Frecheville looks with that haircut. Maybe it's the thick chops, but an odd, sadly goofy, distraction for me.