MERCURY RISING
Release Date: April 3, 1998 Starring: Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens, Robert Stanton, Bodhi Elfman, Carrie Preston, Lindsay Ginter Directed by: Harold Becker Distributed by: Universal Pictures MPAA Rating: R (violence, language) URL: http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio/reviews/1998/mercury.htm
Bruce Willis' career as an actor, now in its eighteenth year, commands a list of nearly forty titles. Add to that almost ten more titles which he served on as a producer or a writer or various other crew roles, and there is no denying the statement that Willis is very accomplished in the motion picture industry. It's somewhat surprising to consider, then, that the majority of his achievements have not moved beyond the limited confines of action or thriller movies. While some have been benchmark entertainment, like DIE HARD, PULP FICTION, and 12 MONKEYS, Willis' flashes of brilliance do not counterbalance the many senseless movies he's made. His newest star vehicle, MERCURY RISING, isn't as bland as other work he's done, but it is a thriller doesn't achieve what genre fans expect.
Although primarily a thriller, MERCURY RISING has scenes where it wants to be and fades into simple, guns-blazing action (scenes of Willis running through a hospital come to mind). These tentative, cross-genre steps cause the thriller component to lose value, because the intent of a thriller is to build tension slowly but steadily. When a gunfight errupts, its as though all of the tension built to that point has been thrown onto the screen, and the movie has to start over. Genre fans, who expect an edge-of-their-seats ride, or at the very least, constant excitement, will be disappointed by the lulls as MERCURY RISING goes through the cumbersome rebuilding process. Harold Becker, who last directed the mediocre political thriller CITY HALL, gets the pacing down by the end of the movie, although the his finale is somewhat anticlimactic.
As the principal, Bruce Willis is unconvincingly bland, although his character is easy to stomach. He plays Art Jefferies, a special agent with the FBI who, after striking a superior officer following a botched hostage situation, is relegated to a missing-child case. Arriving at the boy's house, he finds both parents shot dead and the child hiding away in a closet. He attempts to get to know the kid, named Simon (Miko Hughes), but this proves difficult as Simon is autistic. Unaware of the world as most people see it, Simon's autism enables him to read and decipher complex encryptions developed by the nation's most secretive agencies. When he interprets the National Security Agency's newest communications code, nicknamed Mercury, he encurs the wrath of the division head, Nicholas Kudrow (Alec Baldwin). Only Art (of course) goes with his gut feeling and helps the kid out.
Both Willis and Baldwin turn in fairly credible performances, and while this was one of Willis' more likeable roles over his past efforts (THE JACKAL, THE FIFTH ELEMENT), Baldwin lacks the sinister sliminess that has pervaded his other antagonistic roles. His gravelly voice makes up for some of it, but his lack of screen time means he can't lend the gravity that he did in THE EDGE or THE JUROR. Miko Hughes is the most outstanding actor here, with a stunning portrayal of an autistic boy that lends realism to Willis' character. The acting overall is bearable, but it's present in a genre that doesn't demand it. The movie doesn't deal with its genre well enough to receive full credit, though, and MERCURY RISING is watchable by anyone who doesn't demand perfection.
FINAL AWARD FOR "MERCURY RISING": 2.5 stars - an enjoyable movie.
-- Craig Roush kinnopio@execpc.com -- Kinnopio's Movie Reviews http://www.execpc.com/~kinnopio
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