LifeHack Review Old School Heist Updated for Meme Age 2026

LifeHack, the debut feature from Irish director Ronan Corrigan, brings a fresh and frenetic energy to the heist genre by filtering it entirely through the digital screens of smartphones, laptops, and PCs. Produced by Timur Bekmambetov, known for pioneering the screenlife format, this film is a web 2.0 update of the 90s cult classic Hackers. It follows a quartet of heavily vaping, tech-savvy gamers who escalate their nightly shitposting into a daring robbery targeting an obnoxious crypto billionaire. The result is a high-octane thriller that feels both nostalgic and aggressively modern.

A Digital Heist for the Meme Generation

The plot centers on Kyle (Georgie Farmer) and Alex (Yasmin Finney), two hackers-in-chief who lead their crew in a virtual assault on Charlie Creed-Miles' character, a billionaire whose motto is “I’m CEO, cunt”. Corrigan’s secret weapon is that his plot points have already been beta-tested offline, making this an old-school heist thriller with especially open coding. The film commits forcefully to an accelerationist digital aesthetic, casting newish faces with the air of habitual phone-checkers and establishing their innate restlessness through frantic tab scrolling.

The dialogue is pumped through the same headset-filter one might use to play Call of Duty, and the script—co-written by Corrigan and Hope Elliott Kemp—cleverly renames a bluff podcaster as “Joe Brogan”. These frames-within-frames resemble the real thing, with a meme game that is strong and no ridiculous Google substitutes like Search Rhino or InfoBuzz. The film’s authenticity in depicting digital culture is a major strength.

The Romance Amidst the Chaos

Corrigan and co-editor Sasha Kletsov slow the tempo to establish a tender, geekily awkward romance between Kyle and Alex. This subplot provides a human anchor in a sea of digital noise, offering viewers a moment to breathe. However, the film eventually succumbs to the customary limitation of screenlife thrillers: after the initial excitement wears off, it becomes an ultra-mechanical entertainment, pointing and clicking between spinning wheels.

Is LifeHack Worth Watching?

As social media enters its flop era in the wider world, the shelf life of this subgenre is surely diminishing. Corrigan’s use of security-cam footage indicates these events unfold between 2018 and 2020, making LifeHack a period piece almost immediately. It is efficiently executed, but its relentless cursor-nudging will likely make older viewers want to unplug and retreat into an 18th-century novel. For younger audiences steeped in meme culture, it may feel like a thrilling mirror of their daily lives.

Final Verdict

LifeHack is a bold, high-concept film that updates the heist genre for the meme age. It succeeds in capturing the frenetic energy of online life, but its reliance on screen gimmicks may limit its lasting appeal. For fans of Hackers and modern digital storytelling, it offers a unique, if exhausting, ride. The film is in UK cinemas from 15 May.

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