On J List of Movie Reviews
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Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
5/04, 4/25
4/25:
Johnny Mnemonic is a pre-Matrix picture that tries to
be the next Blade Runner.
The story is never interesting. It's mainly about Keanu Reeves' character complaining about having all the
shit in his head and not getting "room service." Maybe he should've blamed himself for letting it happen in
the first place. By the way, if his data storage can only handle up to 160 GB, then how is it possible that
320 GB was accepted? Try doing that to an actual computer. The download will simply fail.
How about the environment? It feels lazy, having been shot in some industrial wasteland just to save money. I'm
incredulous that everybody can be located within a one-mile radius in Newark. At least, the special effects
in the virtual reality world isn't bad, especially for 1995, and can be compared favorably to
Hackers. But 2021? Uh...better advance that by 200 years.
My eyes blinked when I saw Dolph Lundgren's name in the opening credits. When he showed up as some Jesus
freak, I quickly dismissed him as "bad idea." Ditto for Ice T. I'm not sure about Henry Rollins. Keanu Reeves is
okay and tries his best with the material. The only part I couldn't understand is whether he's supposed to be a
human being or a robot. Nonetheless, pairing him up with Dina Meyer as his bodyguard is a mistake. She's boring.
All in all, I've seen Johnny Mnemonic four or five times in total, and it never gets better.