Johnny Mnemonic, starring Keanu Reeves, is not exactly The Matrix. Containing crappy acting and clichéd through, there is nothing of substance from this sci-fi thriller. The plot and idea is good but nothing great was made of them, and what we're left with is a piece of garbage that has no redeeming value.

Reeves plays a courier who is shipping the data for the cure to a disease that has swept the world but its contents are so large that it will destroy his brain if he doesn't get it out. The problem is the bad guys, who also want the data, interrupted him before he could get the password. So, as precious minutes waste away towards his head exploding, he tries to find someone to download the data for him. The problem with the movie is that there is no sense of urgent timing. Sure, Reeves has dizzy spells from time to time but something could have been done to better express the fact that he was going to die within a few hours.

Furthermore, the setting reminded me of one of the worst movies I have ever seen, Escape from LA. The city, or at least the area of the city where most of the movie took place, is destroyed and filled with a bunch of raggedy-clad rebels. How many times have we seen a future where everything is in shambles?

The graphics are pretty cool but the sequence at the end was rather strange. Hopefully, the future of the internet will not be anything so exhilarating as the net in Johnny Mnemonic.

Johnny Mnemonic had potential but instead wound up to be a collection of things already seen and done.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.