Amazon.com video review:
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), which 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
