In 2005, Alex Michaels is deputy head of a new division of the FBI called "Netforce" which investigates computer crime and polices the Internet. When his boss and mentor, Steve Day, is assassinated, the evidence points to Web pioneer and owner of the company Januscorp, Will Stiles, a character said to be Bill Gates' apprentice. Stiles is about to release a new web browser that may allow him to hack into any computer in the world and to gain control of the Internet. Michaels is appointed acting Commander of Netforce, and leads his people on the hunt for Stiles.
Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly called it "boring cyber-nonsense".[1] William McDonald of The New York Times wrote, "The movie does gather suspense and momentum in Part II, but so much is going on, and so much dialogue is devoted to explaining it, that no one has time to be interesting."[3] Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune called it "pretty silly stuff".[4]