Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
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A data courier with an overloaded brain implant must deliver a life-saving cure before his mind is destroyed.
The story
Set in a dystopian 2021, society is plagued by 'nerve attenuation syndrome' (NAS), a degenerative effect caused by a virtual Internet. Megacorporations dominate the world, creating intense class hostility. Johnny, a mnemonic courier, transports sensitive data in a brain implant at the cost of his childhood memories. He accepts a high-paying job from scientists in Beijing to transport data that exceeds his memory capacity. Johnny must keep his overloaded status secret while racing to deliver the data to Newark, New Jersey, before suffering fatal brain damage and corrupting the information.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2021, a world ravaged by 'nerve attenuation syndrome' (NAS) is controlled by megacorporations. Johnny, a courier who stores data in his brain at the expense of his memories, is hired by Beijing scientists to transport a stolen cure for NAS. After the scientists are killed by yakuza working for the Pharmakom corporation, Johnny escapes with a fragment of the encryption key. He is betrayed by his handler, Ralfi, but rescued by Jane, a cybernetically-enhanced bodyguard, and the LoTeks, an anti-establishment group. They seek help from Spider, a doctor who reveals Pharmakom is withholding the cure for profit. After Spider is killed by an assassin known as 'The Street Preacher,' the group seeks help from Jones, a dolphin capable of decrypting the payload. During a yakuza attack, Johnny confronts the yakuza leader Shinji and the corporation's agent Takahashi. With the help of Anna Kalmann, a former CEO turned AI, Johnny eventually decrypts the data, recovering his memories to discover Anna is his mother. As J-Bone broadcasts the cure across the internet, the Pharmakom headquarters is destroyed.
- First release year
- 1995
- Runtime (minutes)
- 96
- Production countries
- Canada; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Robert Longo
- Writers
- William Gibson · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Keanu Reeves · Johnny; Dolph Lundgren · The Street Preacher; Takeshi Kitano · Shinji; Ice-T · Ralfi; Dina Meyer · Jane; Denis Akiyama · supporting role; Udo Kier · supporting role; Henry Rollins · supporting role
- Genres
- cyberpunk; action; science fiction
- Themes
- transhumanism; corporate greed; memory loss; cyberpunk dystopia
- Tone and mood
- grim; ironic; action-oriented
- Premise and plot tags
- cyberpunk; action; sci-fi; dystopian; corporate warfare; artificial intelligence
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1981 short story by William Gibson
- Reception
- The film received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, with some describing it as 'high-tech trash' or a 'disaster,' but it has developed a cult following.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Reel Award · highest-grossing Canadian film of 1995 · 1995 · win; Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Actor · 1995 · nomination; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Founders Award (What Were They Thinking and Why?) · 1995 · win; Stinkers Bad Movie Awards · Worst Picture · 1995 · dishonourable mention
- Production trivia
- The character 'Molly Millions' was replaced with 'Jane' because the rights to Molly had already been sold.; The Wachowskis used the film as a template for describing The Matrix to investors.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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