Mercury Rising (1998)

Shadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code.

Director:

Harold Becker

Writers:

Ryne Douglas Pearson (novel), Lawrence Konner (screenplay)

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Miko Hughes, Alec Baldwin

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	Art Jeffries
Alec Baldwin	...	Nick Kudrow
Miko Hughes	...	Simon Lynch
Chi McBride	...	Tommy B. Jordan
Kim Dickens	...	Stacey
Robert Stanton	...	Dean Crandell
Bodhi Elfman	...	Leo Pedranski (as Bodhi Pine Elfman)
Carrie Preston	...	Emily Lang
Lindsey Ginter	...	Peter Burrell (as L.L. Ginter)
Peter Stormare	...	Shayes
Kevin Conway	...	Lomax
John Carroll Lynch	...	Martin Lynch
Kelley Hazen	...	Jenny Lynch
John Doman	...	Supervisor Hartley
Richard Riehle	...	Edgar Halstrom

Storyline

Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who protects a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code.

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Plot Keywords:

autistic child | autism | assassin | 9 year old | hospital | 

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Taglines:

The boy no one could reach. The code no one could crack. The agent no one could stop.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Later the same year, Miko Hughes would play an autistic child again in Baywatch: Dolphin Quest (1998).

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Goofs

When Leo calls Dean to his office to hear the recording of Simon's call it is played back out of order. The original was Leo asking, "Who is this?" and Simon responds, "You are a stranger." Then Leo asks where he got the number from and Simon gives the puzzle number and Leo asks, "What did you say?" then you hear Simon's mother telling him to hang up the phone. The recording is played back with Leo asking "What did you say?" Then Simon's mother telling him to hang up the phone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
FBI Supervisor Hartley: Let's go down.

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Alternate Versions

The german TV-Channel RTL cut all of the violence out of the movie, to send it on an earlier timespot (8.15pm).

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Connections

References 60 Minutes (1968)

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Soundtracks

Evil (Is Going On)
Written by Willie Dixon
Performed by KoKo Taylor
Courtesy of Alligator Records

User Reviews

Miko Hughes steals the show

Not a very great movie, but it's entertaining and keeps the interest, despite its flaws which aren't that few. But still it deserves a positive feedback from me and I guess my rating is fair.

Even though this is another Bruce Willis's action-flick, at least this one isn't excessive on that matter, it has a story: Bruce Willis portrays Art, an FBI agent who protects Simon, a boy who is 9 years old and is autistic. Some criminals want to silence the boy after he deciphered a super-difficult code named "Mercury" and Art's mission is to make sure he doesn't get assassinated.

Since the movie is mostly about the FBI agent and the autistic boy and their chemistry, there should be more touching moments. But at least the ending has a tender scene when Simon hugs Art.

Bruce Willis won the 1999 Golden Raspberry for his performance. Well, his acting may be nothing special, but certainly not deserving of a Golden Raspberry on this one.

On the other hand, Miko Hughes won the category of Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor at the 1999 Young Artist Awards. A very deserved tribute, his acting as Simon is superb (a difficult role for a child, which he masterfully portrays). I think he should have won an Oscar for Best Child Actor. Why does it always have to be the adults winning Oscars? Why can't children win them too?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mercury Falling

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,104,715, 5 April 1998

Gross USA:

$32,935,289

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$93,107,289

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1