George Taylor I'm not a big fan of Cyberpunk or the author who work this was based on. Having said that, this isn't a horrible movie, but it could have been so much better. Some blame Keanu Reeves, but I like him much more in this than in the overrated Matrix films. Johnny is a carrier of info. His time and mental space are purchased, and he goes and has it downloaded wherever. Only something bad happens, his release key is lost and he has a certain amount of time to get it out of his head before it goes BOOM! A decent cast and an interesting story, just something is missing to make it great.

Leofwine_draca In terms of creating the futuristic society of 2021, JOHNNY MNEMONIC is pretty good. A combination of complex sets, computer graphics, and some bizarrely-dressed extras make up a grungy and dirty universe of pollution, disease and violent death. Not exactly an original idea, but at least some of writer William Gibson's influence wears off and the film has a realistic setting for once. What a shame, then, that as a thriller, JOHNNY MNEMONIC is so flat. The interesting, original concept of data transference via the human brain is used only as an excuse for some flashy computer graphics - dated already in the seven years since the film first came out - and some techno-babble which sounds cool but has no meaning. Instead the film becomes a series of poorly put-together action sequences which are badly-edited and lacking in excitement. I never thought a film in which a guy wields and decapitates people with an electric whip would be boring, but it is, for the most part.The film has loads of characters and none of them are really developed, other than being "allies" or "enemies". There's some weak comic relief and some bad emoting and acting from Keanu Reeves but otherwise no attempt is made to examine the various characters or their motivations. Take Ice-T's man of mystery, for instance; what do we learn about this badly-dressed citizen of the future? Nothing, other than he's a resistance fighter or something like that. Of course one of the film's biggest flaws is in the central casting of Reeves as a desperate hero; this is at the opposite end of the movie quality spectrum from THE MATRIX and about a tenth as entertaining. Reeves is wooden, wooden, wooden, and quite pathetic at times. His supporting players don't help, either; seemingly a cast of well-established talents, from all areas of the field, were brought together for this movie and then utterly wasted in rubbish parts.Dina Meyer (STARSHIP TROOPERS) should be sassy, agile and sexy as the female sidekick, but she just appears dull and self-centred. Similarly Takeshi Kitano exudes menace and evilness just from his face alone but his villain is a weak, rather stupid man who gets betrayed by an obvious enemy. Even good old Udo Kier appears in a stupid comic/dramatic role as "Ralfi", but is again wasted in what amounts to little more than a cameo. That leaves Dolph Lundgren in one of his most bizarre turns as the 'Street Preacher' a hired killer who spends the latter half of the movie tracking Keanu Reeves down and attempting to kill him. After his villainous turn in UNIVERSAL SOLDIER (which made the film, as far as I'm concerned), it goes without saying that Lundgren can be menacing and nasty with the best of them, but he has little to do here, gets stupid dialogue, and isn't nasty enough. JOHNNY MNEMONIC is an often visually interesting film to watch but lacks excitement, intelligence or originality in it's oh-so-predictable chase thriller storyline.

Tweekums In a future where data is power, protagonist Johnny makes a living smuggling the data in his own brain. The upgrades enabling him to do this meant removing some of his own memories and now he is ready to retire and wants them back… inevitably he must do just one more job first. The job involves carrying stolen data from Beijing to Newark, New Jersey. There are two problems though; firstly there is more data than he is equipped to handle so he will die if it isn't extracted in forty eight hours and secondly the original owners of the data want it back and have sent Yakuza killers after him to retrieve his head! Once in Newark he learns that his employer has double-crossed him; he is forced to go on the run with cybernetically enhanced bodyguard Jane to find somebody else capable of extracting the data and delivering it to those who need it.This film had promise but unfortunately ends up fairly average. The world shown is a cliché dystopia; the corporate elite live the good life and dress in sharp suits while everybody else seems to live in a wasteland in rough clothes and sporting facial tattoos. Keanu Reeves is okay as Johnny, and Udo Kier is amusing as his agent but Takeshi Kitano is wasted as the corporate bad guy. The computer special effects are fairly dated now. If you can ignore these flaws or even enjoy their cheesiness the film isn't too bad. Overall I'd say it is an okay way to kill an hour and a half but if you want a really good cyberpunk film from that era watch 'Ghost in the Shell' or 'The Matrix'.

SnoopyStyle It's the year 2021, and the whole world is suffering from the Nerve Attenuation Syndrome (NAS). Johnny Mnemonic (Keanu Reeves) has an implanted memory chip, and much of his memory erased to create space to store computer data. He's been hired to transport important data while trying to escape from the Yakuza. On his journey, he's helped by bio-engineered muscle Jane (Dina Meyer), and anti-government group led by J-Bone (Ice-T).The similarities to The Matrix is astounding. I'm not saying there's any copying, but I'm sure the Wachowski brothers had a lot of this in mind when they cast Keanu Reeves. He's basically playing the same cool emotionless hero. There are guys in black trench coats. They're dealing a lot of issues with computers. There is a lot of Asian motif. In the end, they are not really the same. I like to call this the trial run for the Matrix. You can see some of the problems. The budget isn't big enough. The real effects are too clunky. The computer FX and graphics would vastly improve in the Matrix. Overall there are all kinds of ideas in this movie that a real world setting just won't do it justice. The story is simple enough. It's a quest and a road story. There are good guys and bad guys. What this movie really need is a better visual effects department.