Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

Directed by

Robert Longo

Genre

cyberpunk, action film, science fiction film

Country

United States, Canada

Runtime

1h 32m

Rated

R

Rating

5.8 of 10 from 1,545 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 2021, a data courier named Johnny carries information stored in his brain implant. He overloads the implant to escape pursuers, but the excess data threatens to kill him. A yakuza leader wants to destroy the data, putting Johnny in a race to deliver it before his brain shuts down.

dystopianfreneticdarktensefuturisticbleakvisceralcynical

What happens

Johnny Mnemonic is a 1995 cyberpunk action film directed by Robert Longo in his feature directorial debut, adapted by William Gibson from his 1981 short story. It stars Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Takeshi Kitano, Ice-T and Dina Meyer, and features Denis Akiyama, Udo Kier, Henry Rollins, and Barbara Sukowa in supporting roles. The film, set in 2021, portrays a dystopian future racked by a tech-induced plague, awash with conspiracies, and dominated by megacorporations and organized crime. The story follows Johnny (Reeves), a data courier with an overloaded brain implant designed to securely store confidential information. The head of a yakuza-affiliated megacorporation (Kitano) attempts to suppress the data. The film was a Canadian and American co-production, filmed in Toronto and Montreal. The project was difficult for Gibson and Longo. After they struggled for years to finance a low-budget adaptation of Gibson's story, Sony greenlit Johnny Mnemonic with a $26 million budget. When Reeves' previous film, Speed, unexpectedly became a major hit, Sony attempted to retool Johnny Mnemonic as a blockbuster. Longo experienced extensive creative differences with the studio, who forced casting choices and script rewrites on him. The film was ultimately recut without Longo's involvement, resulting in a version that he felt did not reflect his artistic vision. Described by Longo and Gibson as originally full of irony, it was edited into a mainstream action film and received negative reviews from critics. Nonetheless, it has developed a cult following. A longer version (103 mins) of the film premiered in Japan on April 15, 1995, featuring an alternate musical score and more scenes involving Kitano. The film was released in the United States on May 26, 1995. In 2022, a black-and-white edition of the film, titled Johnny Mnemonic: In Black and White was released, which Longo characterized as closer to his original vision. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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