THE REWATCHABLES · October 13, 2025
A 1992 thriller / crime movie directed by Phil Alden Robinson—and decision no. 77 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The hosts frame Sneakers as a beloved secret handshake movie that rewards people who know it.
Opening minutesThe team praises the Scrabble game, the voice recording, and the sound-based clue solving as one of the movie’s signature stretches.
About 40 minThey like the scene where the team tries to catch Warner Brandis and work the surveillance angle.
About 48 minThe hosts love the scene where the team identifies the bridge sounds and tracks Marty’s location.
About 40 minThe late cameo is treated as a huge, crowd-pleasing payoff.
About 56 minThe younger versions of Redford and Kingsley are praised, along with the opener’s period setup.
About 40 minBill and Kyle elevate Redford’s slow walk as one of the most impressive physical feats in movie history.
About 1:20WHERE THEY DISAGREED
Bill SimmonsYes. His running, accent, and tone feel like they belong in a different movie.
Kyle BrandtSomewhat yes. He is trying very hard and appears oddly unmoored from the rest of the cast.
Joanna RobinsonYes, but the overcommitment is part of the fun and makes the character memorable.
Kyle BrandtToo Many Secrets or No More Secrets would have been clearer.
Bill SimmonsSomething like Freakers or Hackers would have marketed it better.
Joanna RobinsonThe title is part of the secret-handshake appeal, even if it is bad SEO.
Craig HorlbeckNot well; later movies like Ocean’s Eleven and Enemy of the State made this era feel primitive.
Joanna RobinsonThe film is still prescient in theme even if some tech details look dated.
Kyle BrandtThe movie predicted major information-age anxieties, so its ideas aged better than its gadgets.
Bill SimmonsYes, but he still works as a movie star lead.
Joanna RobinsonYes, but the film is built around his charisma and age gives the character texture.
Kyle BrandtIt bothers him less than the title or marketing do.
Calls it the most underrated movie of the 1990s and says it is delightful, charming, and packed with genre elements.
Opening minutesSays it is a perfect movie and a kind of password for people who know it.
Opening minutesArgues the title, poster, and tagline are terrible and actively hurt the film’s legacy.
About 8 minSays Sneakers creates an early cyber-caper genre and feels ahead of its time on information control.
About 8 minTreats the Scrabble and sound-identification material as a smart, riveting example of the movie’s economy.
About 40 minSays Redford is a great counterpunching actor and a Hall of Fame eye-narrower who anchors the film.
About 32 minSays the climactic heist and surveillance-room material are the best sustained run in the movie.
About 48 minSays the score is a defining part of the movie’s atmosphere and a major reason it works.
About 1:04Says the movie’s tech is hard to age well and that later films improved on the concept.
About 32 minTakes issue with Kingsley’s performance, especially his running and overall fit in the role.
About 1:04The film is treated as an early warning about data, surveillance, and control of information.
About 16 minThe movie’s anti-Republican and anti-establishment jabs are read as very early-90s and now especially interesting.
About 24 minThe team’s chemistry and specialized skills make the heist feel satisfying and communal.
About 16 minRedford is praised as a straight-man movie star who anchors eccentric supporting players.
About 32 minThe Bay Area setting is treated as unusually rich and visually identifiable.
About 1:12The script reportedly took about a decade to develop.
About 16 minThe film is treated as an early cyber-caper and a precursor to later hacker movies.
About 16 minThe red/white/blue Republican-targeting ending is discussed as a period-specific political joke.
About 24 minThe movie was built around Bay Area geography, including San Francisco bridges and Chinatown.
About 1:12A real 415 number was used and reportedly had a message encouraging people to see the film.
About 1:12Phil Alden Robinson was approaching the project from his success with Field of Dreams.
About 24 minThe research included a prank visit from people claiming to be the Office of Naval Intelligence.
About 1:12Used as a precursor that anticipated computer-era paranoia and inspired the Sneakers screenwriters.
About 16 minCited as a later, now-funny internet thriller that shows how fast the genre changed.
About 16 minReferenced as part of the mid-90s hacker-movie wave that came after Sneakers.
About 16 minMentioned as another example of a bad title that obscures a movie’s appeal.
About 8 minUsed to discuss Phil Alden Robinson and Redford’s career connections.
About 24 minReferenced in the debate over whether Redford’s jacket in Sneakers is the same jacket from another film.
About 48 minMentioned because Martin Bishop is a name that echoes a Redford character from that film.
About 48 minReferenced in the discussion of Redford’s college and character-name self-references.
About 48 min · medium confidenceUsed as a point of reference for David Strathairn/Strathairn and one of his later character turns.
About 24 minMentioned in a discussion about young-actor lookalikes and great casting transformations.
About 40 min · medium confidenceUsed to argue that later ensemble-caper movies improved on this genre’s mechanics and polish.
About 32 minReferenced as a later movie where the surveillance-tech concept feels more modern.
About 32 minUsed in a comparison with Redford’s slow walk through Cosmo’s office as a physical feat.
About 1:20Mentioned as one of Redford’s most visible roles for younger audiences.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceReferenced in a broader Redford discussion about whether he is a great actor or a movie star.
About 1:12 · medium confidenceThe hosts repeatedly joke that liking Sneakers is a password that identifies kindred movie people.
Opening minutesThey keep joking that the title sounds like a shoe movie and fails internet searchability.
About 8 minBill repeatedly jokes that Redford is a Hall of Fame squinter who reacts perfectly to threats.
About 32 minThe hosts rewatch and mock Kingsley’s odd run more than once.
About 1:04Craig repeatedly corrects bridge counts and location details in a very Bay Area-specific way.
About 40 minThe group celebrates Tobolowsky as a first-ballot character actor and compares his run across early-90s films.
About 1:20The hosts keep folding Redford’s other movies into the Sneakers discussion, making the film feel like part of a Redford museum.
About 48 min“the most underrated movie of the entire 1990s”Opening minutes
“My voice is my passport. Verify me.”About 40 min
“Hall of Fame eye-narrower”About 32 min
“Be a beacon and give him head whenever he asks”Opening minutes
“motherfuckers mess with me, I'll split your head”About 56 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before Sneakers, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Kyle Brandt20 tracked appearances · 7 H / 13 C
Joanna Robinson9 tracked appearances · 7 H / 2 CCATEGORY CONTEXT
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