Mercury Rising (1998)

Director:

Harold Becker

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

3 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Someone knows too much.

Plot:

Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who is assigned to protect a 9 year old autistic boy who is the...

Plot Keywords:

Code | FBI | Puzzle | Assassin | NSA

Awards:

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

Also Known As:

Mercury Falling (USA) (working title)
Simon (USA) (working title)
Simon Says (USA) (working title)
Simple Simon (USA) (working title)
Das Mercury Puzzle (Austria) (Germany) [de]
A kód neve: Merkur (Hungary) [hu]
Al rojo vivo (Spain) [es]
Alguien sabe demasiado (Argentina) (original subtitled version) [es]
Código Para o Inferno (Brazil) [pt]
Code Mercury (France) [fr]
Codice Mercury (Italy) [it]
Kod Mercury (Sweden) [sv]
Kod Mercury (Poland) [pl]
Kodenavn Mercury (Norway) [no]
Kodenavn: Mercury (Denmark) [da]
Kodikos: Mercury (Greece) [el]
Mercure à la hausse (Canada: French title) [fr]
Mercure se hausse (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]
Mercury Rising (Spain) [es]
Merkurjev srd (Slovenia) [sl]
Misión - Máxima seguridad (Mexico) [es]
Nome de Código: Mercúrio (Portugal) [pt]
Nume de cod: Mercury (Romania) [ro]
Salasana: Mercury (Finland) [fi]
Sifre Merkür (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS-Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Denmark:15 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | South Korea:15 (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Ireland:15 | Italy:T | Spain:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Imagine Entertainment

Trivia:

Actor Miko Hughes spent time with many autistic children at a special school. He also worked with a Chicago child psychologist to understand how to portray an autistic child.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Art breaks the door to Simon's house, he closes it and the door clicks even though Art broke it.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in Watch the Mercury Rising (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

London Jam

Better Circa 2004

I just watcehd this on DVD, loved it and was literally stunned to find that most people, in particular those that write movie reviews for a living slated this.

Maybe its because in 2004, some six years after its original release we are seeing a revival of the action/thriller (Bourne Supremacy etc).

So, what didn't I like, not much. I would like to have seen more made of the kids codebreaking, they could really have milked that and didn't, the opening scene was just to cliché in setting up Willis's character as were the characters of his big black boss and hard nosed chief. The very last scene was typical US syrup but was thankfully very short.

What was good? everything else, I loved the idea behind the story, Miko Hughes is totally amazing to the point I had to check the next day to find out how the hell they managed to get a autistic kid to act (is isn't autistic but is a damn fine actor), Willis really does add vulnerability to a role that he has played many times before, with the movie underpinned fantastically with a John Barry soundscore and Harold Becker carefully crafts what for me was a very enjoyable movie watching experience and stands head and shoulders above many I have seen recently. 3/5 for me