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

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:

The wine that Art opens in Kudrow's basement is Chateau Petrus from Pomerol (identifiable by the red seal at the bottom left corner of the label), probably the most expensive Bordeaux red wine, and contrary to what Art said in the movie, even young Petrus costs much more than $75 per bottle.

Goofs:

Continuity: Waste bin in Leo's flat is under the desk when Leo throws the carbon paper away. Yet when Emily finds bin, it is part way out from underneath desk.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

London Jam

Killed by its own premise

This movie has one huge problem: *its basic premise makes no sense at all*. Killing the kid is in absolutely nobody's interest. His codebreaking skill would be of immeasurable value to the very people who are trying to kill him, while safeguarding the code without killing him would be fairly straightforward. This is so obvious that it essentially ruins the whole movie.

The rest of the movie is OK if you ignore that problem. The performances are generally good, and Miko Hughes is excellent as Simon. There is nothing here you haven't seen a dozen times before, but it's generally well done. It's not worth making any real effort to see this movie, but you probably won't have a bad time if you do.