Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

A data courier, literally carrying a data package inside his head, must deliver it before he dies from the burden or is killed by the Yakuza.

Director:

Robert Longo

Writers:

William Gibson (screenplay), William Gibson (short story)

Stars:

Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Dina Meyer

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Keanu Reeves	...	Johnny Mnemonic
Dina Meyer	...	Jane
Ice-T	...	J-Bone
Takeshi Kitano	...	Takahashi (as Takeshi)
Denis Akiyama	...	Shinji
Dolph Lundgren	...	Street Preacher
Henry Rollins	...	Spider
Barbara Sukowa	...	Anna Kalmann
Udo Kier	...	Ralfi
Tracy Tweed	...	Pretty
Falconer Abraham	...	Yomamma
Don Francks	...	Hooky
Diego Chambers	...	Henson
Sherry Miller	...	Takahashi's Secretary
Arthur Eng	...	Viet

Storyline

In 2021, the whole world is connected by the gigantic Internet, and almost a half of the population is suffering from the Nerve Attenuation Syndrome (NAS).Johnny with an inplanted memory chip in his brain was ordered to transport the over loaded information from Beijing to Newark. While Pharmakom Industries supported by yakuza tries to capture him to get the informaiton back, the Low-tech group led by J-Bone tries to break the missing code to download the cure of NAS which Johnny carries.

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Plot Keywords:

implanted memory | virtual reality | cyberspace | erased memory | based on story | 

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Taglines:

The future's most wanted fugitive.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sci-fi violence, and for language

Details

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English Japanese

Release Date:

26 May 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fugitivo del futuro

Filming Locations:

95 Villiers St., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,420,152, 29 May 1995

Gross USA:

$19,076,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$33,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Alliance Communications Corporation, Cinévision

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot on-location in Canada, with Toronto and Montreal filling in for Newark, New Jersey and Beijing, China. Several local sites, including Toronto's Union Station, Montreal's skyline, and Jacques Cartier Bridge, feature prominently.

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Goofs

Takahashi calls Dolph Lundgren by his real name when hiring him for the hit job on Johnny.

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Quotes

Johnny Mnemonic: Hit me.

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Alternate Versions

The Japanese version (director's cut) is rather different from the international re-edited cut. It runs ca. 10 minutes longer (the additional scenes focus mostly on Takeshi Kitano's character Takahashi), some additional scenes are intact whereas they were committed in the other version), in other scenes different camera angles were used. It also has a different score composed by Mychael Danna (Brad Fiedel was brought on later re-score the picture) and more violence.

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Connections

References Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (1985)

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Soundtracks

SAD BUT TRUE
Performed by Orbital
Written by Phil Hartnoll and Paul Hartnoll
Published by Sony Songs, Inc. o/b/o itself and Phil Hartnoll US (BMI) / Sony Music Publishing UK
Produced and Mixed by Orbital
Recorded at Strongroom 7; London
Orbital appears courtesy of London Records

User Reviews

Why do I keep coming back to this movie?

I saw half of this movie on television once, and since I am a avid sci-fi fan, the story intrigued me. A couple of weeks later I went out to pick up a copy of this movie for myself, and ever since I've been watching it every now and then. Not every month, but at least once every 4 or 5 months. Sometimes more. There's just something about it that I like. Well, lets start from the beginning:

It is the year 2021 and the world has been taken over by large coorporations that do pretty much what they want to. Most of them are out to make money, however, and will do anything to achieve that goal. One of these coorporations is PharmaCom, a coorporation that deals in medicine and exists pretty much all over the world. From Beijing to Newark. 'Johnny' is a Mnemonic courier who carries an implant in his brain which allows him to carry a large amount of data there. But when he accepts a job where he is overloaded with data, he is not only experiencing trouble with getting rid of the data, but also finds that several bounty hunters and crime organizations are after his head and the information stored within. Over 24 hours he jumps around in the city of Newark, trying to find a way to get rid of the data and the bounty hunters.

A touch in this movie that many might recognize from the film 'The Matrix' is that in this movie they tend to hook themselves up to the internet, which has become a virtual reality like, àlà The Lawnmower man. But in the end of the film, Keanu's character completly hooks himself up to the internet for a short amount of time, walking around in it and controlling his actions as if he was in another world. Pretty much like he did in the Matrix. Wierd, huh?

The film presents a very interesting vision of the future. Coorporations, crime syndicates, virtual-reality, futuristic weapons and the like. The sets look authentic and the look and feel of the film is top-notch. The music seems to fit the mood at all times, too, which is a big plus. The characters are likeable and unique in their own way, but with one exception. Keanu Reeves plays 'Johnny' without any life or energy put into it and delivers his lines flat and in the most boring way. His worst acting job ever? Perhaps. You could tell he didn't like this movie very much.

Overall, its a very interesting sci-fi flick which has its ups and downs. The upsides is the setting, the music, the vision of the future etc. etc. while the downsides are Keanu Reeve's acting and sometimes lack of interest in what happens next in the movie. I give it a 7/10.