Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Ice-T

You might be tempted to call it "Johnny Moronic" after you've seen this illogical and derivative adaptation of William Gibson's cyberpunk short story (available in his book Burning Chrome), whi...( read more  read more... )ch is all the more depressing since Gibson himself wrote the screenplay. First you have to ask yourself why valuable top-secret electronic data would be stored in the "wet-wired" brain of a human courier (played by Keanu Reeves), who then transports the data from China to New Jersey as part of his last, most dangerous assignment. Surely there are better ways to transmit sensitive information, but since this is really just a conventional thriller with near-future design and spiffy special effects, Gibson and New York artist Robert Longo (making his directorial debut) are more interested in surface gloss and cyberpunk atmosphere. On that level the movie's fairly engaging, and Japanese film star Takeshi Kitano makes a pretty good villain, tracking Reeves down for the information in his data-packed brain. The movie also boasts an eclectic gallery of supporting players including rapper Ice-T, performance artist and rocker Henry Rollins, beefcake actor Dolph Lundgren, and transcontinental oddball Udo Kier. They can't stop this trip through virtual reality from being botched up, but sci-fi fans will certainly enjoy the echo of Gibson's fiction that remains on the screen. --Jeff Shannon

Flixster Users

35% liked it

46,386 ratings

Critics

14% liked it

28 critics

R, 98 min.

Directed by: Robert Longo

Release Date: May 26, 1995

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DVD Release Date: November 11, 1997

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Stats: 1,485 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,485)


  • November 18, 2009
    A sensational and wickedly cool cyber-edged sci-fi edge of your seat thriller with fantastic speacial effects and explosive action. A dazzelingly original and pulse-pounding ride that will blow your mind. It kick starts the senses and shows great set pieces in a high-tech world. ...( read more)A eye-popping and exhilerating science-fiction creation. It's big, dumb and really fun. It is a cult classic none the less but it has some really over the top acting from an incrediable mis-casted flick. Especially with Dolph Lundgren as a hitman preacher who looks like Jesus, which makes the film very laughable but he is not alone, Henry Rollins as a doctor, more to laugh at. Lundgren still gives an outragiously memorable performance. But its defiantely in the so bad its good category. But the film is still very entertaining and fun to watch.
  • September 22, 2009
    Even Takeshi Kitano couldn?t save this rubbish film!
  • May 7, 2009
    When I first saw this flick I did quite like it but that was waaaaay back when I was a mere silly teen hehe On the design and looks front its not too bad, it does look futuristic and bleak with lots of neon everywhere (Blade Runner ripped..check) Kier is always a good character a...( read more)ctor and Lundgren does put in a great hammy peformance as the nutter priest who likes to kill anyone and everyone but thats it, nothing more.

    The rest of the cast is very poor and second rate, including Reeves who is always shit, and the plot is messed up, much like fellow distopian futuristic flop 'Barb Wire'.
  • November 2, 2008
    at the time, I thought it was a pretty good movie.
  • August 6, 2008
    I'll watch anything with Ice-T in it and this movie did not disappoint. It was extremely hilarious with Ice-T in the role of J-Bone! Can anyone say, Craic! It was more funny for its shortcomings than good for quality but I kind of like things that are so ridiculous that they r...( read more) funny. They did have pretty neat graphics and concepts for 1995. And there was this one laser weapon that kicked arse! But, it was really just hilarious. Apparently in 2012 (or 2021 - I can't remember) we will all be David Bowier clones and live in filth. It's great.
  • November 20, 2009
    Really dark sci-fi film.
  • September 7, 2009
    what shit?? idea wasn't that bad, but the special effects of the mid-90s are just atrocious.druged-up dolphin, wtf?? bottomline - fanatism will kill you, man, and jesus himself won't help ^^
  • August 24, 2009
    enjoyable sci-fi fare.
  • August 24, 2009
    I never could get past Keanu Reeves without sideburns. I couldn't take him seriously just for that thing alone. But, I do admire his dedication in transporting data bigger than his internal capacity that could of fried his brain.
  • August 14, 2009
    I'm not entirely sure where I sit with this. A lot has been changed from the story, sometimes to make it more visually stimulating, but other changes seem to drag it down. I like the cyberspace graphics; even though they're dated now considering that the film is over 10 years old...( read more) and the story more like 20 they fit perfectly with the future-vision of the period. And they're pretty colourful, which keeps me happy. Jones hasn't been cut out (he was my favourite part of the original), the Lo-Teks are different but still pretty well done, and some of the new material worked reasonably well.
    The performances are erratic and rather over the top, but this isn't necessarily terrible (though it doesn't exactly help that the most pleasing performance comes from a dolphin which may or may not be animatronic). However, what I really disliked was Jane's character, who is essentially Molly ripped about so badly that she loses any compelling qualities, and even attempts to make her sympathetic by giving her a nervous disease don't work.

    To sum it up, it's not that great, but it wasn't the pile of stool water that I feared after reading the 'official' reviews.

Comments


  • michellefortuin
    May 17, 2009
    Terrible movie! You shouldn't watch it, it's horrible. Not interesting at all.

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