Mercury Rising (1998)

17% of critics liked it
(35 reviews)
48% of users liked it
(51,914 ratings)

In this action-suspense thriller, orphaned nine-year-old autistic savant Simon (Miko Hughes) deciphers a government code hidden in a puzzle magazine. Calling for his prize, Simon triggers an alarm at the National Security Agency: NSA chief Nicholas Kudrow (Alec Baldwin), who says the code protects… More In this action-suspense thriller, orphaned nine-year-old autistic savant Simon (Miko Hughes) deciphers a government code hidden in a puzzle magazine. Calling for his prize, Simon triggers an alarm at the National Security Agency: NSA chief Nicholas Kudrow (Alec Baldwin), who says the code protects covert American operatives all over the world, sends an assassin to do away with Simon. Simon's parents are killed, but Simon survives, hiding in a secret closet crawlspace where he's later discovered by maverick FBI agent Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis). Simon is emotionally unpredictable, complicating matters as Art drags him all over Chicago, eluding Kudrow's hitman in a variety of interesting locations (train tracks, street scenes, heliport, Wrigley building) and improbable situations. Based on the novel Simple Simon by Ryne Douglas Peardon, the film features Industrial Light & Magic special FX/animation. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Harold Becker
Written By: Laurence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Apr 3, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Jan 2, 2002
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
At one point, this was titled Mercury Falling, and that is a far more apt name for this ice cold thriller.
Gary Brown, Houston Community Newspapers
There's a lot of action but the thriller part of the movie never emerges.
Lori Hoffman, Atlantic City Weekly
Surprisingly watchable
Blake Davis, KFOR Channel 4 News
Bruce Willis, an autistic kid and lots of explosions. You do the math.
Fred Topel, About.com
Below average thriller. Not much action, not much character between Willis and the boy, but Baldwin is a good villain.
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
These people should really know better.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Nobody's trying hard at all in this by-the-numbers Willis vehicle that has him up against a government conspiracy --- ho-hum. To demonstrate evolution: the F.B.I. useta be the bad guys in this sort of thing, but herein Willis plays one, howbeit a "rogue" agent.… More
Nobody's trying hard at all in this by-the-numbers Willis vehicle that has him up against a government conspiracy --- ho-hum. To demonstrate evolution: the F.B.I. useta be the bad guys in this sort of thing, but herein Willis plays one, howbeit a "rogue" agent. Oooooo.
erika b

did not have a good plot. really bad acting.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Chi McBride, Miko Hughes, Kim Dickens DIRECTED BY: Harold Becker Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who is assigned to protect a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code Decent thriller.… More
Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Chi McBride, Miko Hughes, Kim Dickens DIRECTED BY: Harold Becker Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who is assigned to protect a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code Decent thriller. Bruce Willis doing what he does best, playing a cop. The theory of the movie was interesting, but it got a bit boring in some places. Thought Miko Hughes was great for being so young to play such a difficult character. Acting was good by all. The little tender moment at the end was a tear jerker. Worth the rental.
Anthony L

This film starts with a clever premise and could have been an intelligent thriller but ends up being boring, formulaic and dumb. I feel the question of 'Who is the real good guy' could have been explored more intelligently as the subject of collateral damage is raised,… More
This film starts with a clever premise and could have been an intelligent thriller but ends up being boring, formulaic and dumb. I feel the question of 'Who is the real good guy' could have been explored more intelligently as the subject of collateral damage is raised, typically, the bad guy/good guy is an asshole and gets kicked off a building. Are American courts empty?
Jason O

I can't believe that "Mercury Rising" isn't more popular of a movie. A 9 year old autistic boy cracks the national security code that everybody thought was impossible to break. Art (Bruce Willis) takes it upon himself to protect the kid from some government… More
I can't believe that "Mercury Rising" isn't more popular of a movie. A 9 year old autistic boy cracks the national security code that everybody thought was impossible to break. Art (Bruce Willis) takes it upon himself to protect the kid from some government officials who want the boy dead. There might be some minor gaps in the storyline of "Mercury Rising," but nothing that does anything to hurt the movie in my opinion. This movie shows how great of an actor Bruce Willis really is and the boy does a great job too. The effects are also well done and the movie has good suspense. If you like good suspense movies, I recommend getting "Mercury Rising." NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. Bruce Willis, nearly all his movies are good stuff!
Red L

Typical movie for Bruce Willis. Bruce plays an FBI agent who goes with his gut feeling too often, whereas he is supposed to go with the facts. What is hard to believe in this movie is that the bad guy is another branch of the government. One has to hope that the NSA doesn't… More
Typical movie for Bruce Willis. Bruce plays an FBI agent who goes with his gut feeling too often, whereas he is supposed to go with the facts. What is hard to believe in this movie is that the bad guy is another branch of the government. One has to hope that the NSA doesn't normally go around shooting citizens for no good reason. Miko Hughes plays a convincing 9-year-old autistic boy.
Megan S

I've seen this but I don't remember very much about it except the autistic boy cracks an important code.
Ross C

A formulaic action thriller... but it's a good formula!
Dean !

An ok thriller about an austic boy who manages to unlock a password system for the ministry of defence. Therefore placing his life in danger as Bruce Willis tries to protect from the goverment he works for.
xGary X

Bog-standard Bruce Willis vehicle in which a down at heel FBI agent "finds himself" protecting an autistic boy. Formulaic and lame.
Aaron N

This is an underrated Bruce Willis action movie. It does a good job setting up it's plot, despite the inplausability that surrounds it. It is made with some good action surrounding some pretty good performances. Alec Baldwin is also here as a evil doer of political proportions,… More
This is an underrated Bruce Willis action movie. It does a good job setting up it's plot, despite the inplausability that surrounds it. It is made with some good action surrounding some pretty good performances. Alec Baldwin is also here as a evil doer of political proportions, and he gives it a good dose of evil swagger. But the real joy comes from Willis handling the situation of defending an autistic child.
Dean M

Good thriller with a renegade FBI agent who protects a 9-year-old autistic boy.
Luke B

WOW. I'd actually forgotten about this film and how bad it is. Everyone involved should hope most other people forget about it as well. An austistic kid is protected by Bruce Willis because he has solved a top secret government code. Just ends up coming off as some Disney… More
WOW. I'd actually forgotten about this film and how bad it is. Everyone involved should hope most other people forget about it as well. An austistic kid is protected by Bruce Willis because he has solved a top secret government code. Just ends up coming off as some Disney animated buddy comedy such as Brother Bear or The Fox and the Hound.
Marion R

Pretty damn entertaining. Bruce Willis is awesome and Alec Baldwin is good in playing the villain.
Lee K

saw this but too long ago meh....