Johnny Mnemonic

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Dina Meyer, Ice-T, Henry Rollins
Directed by: Robert Longo
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
1995

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: In the near future, a man (Keanu Reeves) carrying vital, critical information in his brain becomes a wanted man as big corporations and small time gangsters want to kill him for the information.

Review:

Tim: Johnny Mnemonic deserves credit for being an ambitious attempt at an epic science fiction film. I was surprised at how large the movie feels- there are massive set pieces, intense action, and a whole world here, depicted what life might be like in 2021. The movie feels immersive and surprisingly large. Unfortunately, the script doesn't do the movie's visuals justice. This is a flawed movie that should have been significantly better than it turned out to be.

I like the basic idea of this film- data can be stored in the brain, and someone is hunted down for the information he is carrying. This is definitely science fiction, but it's sci-fi rooted in reality. Keanu Reeves is a good choice to play Johnny. He's definitely embraced science fiction throughout his career, and I like him in these roles. Sadly, he doesn't have a great deal to work with here. The script is full of implausible events, awful dialogue, and meandering moments that detract from the story. This isn't a terrible movie, but it leaves a great deal to be desired.

I actually liked the basic core of the movie. When we watch Reeves trying to stay alive with Dina Meyer and trying to get the info out of his brain, we're watching a compelling action movie. It's the sidebar stuff that pulls the movie down. We have a ridiculous subplot with Dolph Lundgren as Street Preacher. Every single second of Lundgren's screen time hurts the film. He's not a good actor, his character was beyond stupid, and he has some of the film's worst lines. He's incredibly unenjoyable in this movie. We also have too many scenes with Ice-T. While he's not awful, his scenes don't add much to the film. Henry Rollins plays his part way too over the top, and also adds very little. We also have some nonsense about a dolphin (I'm still trying to figure that part out) and a whole host of other scenes that take up screen time but don't add to the overall quality. Yes, these give the film a bit of its epic feel, but they don't push it in a good direction.

I really believe that somewhere here could have been a very, very good movie. The ideas, some of the cast, and a bit of the execution actually work. There's too much awful dialogue, though- the actors had to be a bit embarrassed to hear some of these lines coming out of their mouths. There's also too many extraneous moments that don't add enough. In the end, Johnny Mnemonic is a bit of a mess of a movie. There's glimpses of something impressive, but the execution buries these glimpses under a pile of crap. This is a disappointing, surprisingly forgettable movie that looks like it hits hard, but doesn't connect in the end. I love the ambitious attempt, but I hate to admit it falls far, far too short.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Matrix, Speed, Dark City, Gattaca