Customer Reviews

Johnny Mnemonic [VHS]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

This JUST RELEASED SPECIAL SUPERBIT version of this film (10/09/01), means that all available disc space is used to present the film supposedly at the very finest visual quality possible. The disc space is devoted to improving the resolution of the film. That means no extras, no bells and whistles, behind the scenes documentaries, commentaries, nothing, nada. Perhaps an extra disc of extra's would have been nice. . . but this release is not geared to please everyone, only the pickiest DVDophiles amongst us.

If you like the film and you want to see and hear it better than you have ever been able to hear it before, this DVD is worth getting. There are no extras as all of the disc space is utilized in giving the highest possible bit rate possible. I hope some truly classic films will offered using the Superbit process in the future. I would also like to see an additional disc of extra material being offered for those films that have available extras.

Johnny Mnemonic should have been a delightful camp-fest with some remarkable sequences full of colorful digital effects. An excellent pop-artist Robert Longo directed the film, and it's all based on famed cyber-punk/ science fiction writer William Gibson's short story. He even adapted it for the screen.

The film to me is about as much fun as getting dumped off the internet just as your finishing writing a long e-mail you've not saved. I'd have to strain quite a bit to tell you something that is worthwhile in the film. The cast might look promising on paper, (Keanu, Dina Meyer, Ice-T, Takeshi (BEAT)Kitano, Henry Rollins, and Udo Kier) but nobody is particularly good in the film.

There's a pretty interesting sequence when Johnny quite literally surfs the internet. It's got some dazzling visuals for a few minutes. Well, that's about all I can come up with.

The plot sets up one long chase scene. Keanu Reeves plays Johnny, a human computer information courier. The safest way to transport corporate information from computer to computer is by implanting the information into a chip inside a human couriers brain. Johnny wants to retire from the courier business so he takes on a more dangerous than usual assignment which also means he needs to complete his assignment in 48 hours or his brain shorts out and he becomes a vegetable. There's some good guys who help him try get to where he needs to go, and there's the bad guys who want to download the information from him.

Most of the futuristic sets look too cheap to be convincing. The dialogue stops just short of being hilariously bad, which means it isn't quite bad enough to be fun. The film doesn't have the right tone or pace to be a fun, guilty-pleasure type camp-fest either. There's quite a few similarities to TRON , and the far superior The Matrix that might be of some interest to completists.

Still someone out there likes this thing. One of them obviously works within the studio and decided this was a good film to give the full SUPERBIT treatment to. I'm not sure exactly why…. But they have done it.

The DVD Image

SUPERBIT TITLES are produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital video, sound and mastering technicians and engineers. Superbit DVDs are encoded at twice their normal bit rate which improves video resolution and gives you a choice of both Dolby 5.1 and DTS audio. They are fully compatible with region 1 DVD players already in use.

Utilizing more space on the disc for bit-rates improves the over-all picture resolution. It's not a dramatic difference but the image will look a little sharper and there will be additional detail in low light situations. It also means there is less compression of detail being used which should cut down on visible edge enhancement, what is called mosquito noise, haloing,artifacting, and color pinging or shifting. This also means grain and other imperfections on the film stock might be somewhat amplified as well. The disc type is a DVD-9 (a single sided and double-layered disc with a capacity of 7.95 gigabits).

Once again, it appears the digitally stored transfer that was used to create the previous edition of Johnny Mnemonic seems to be used. There are some blemishes on the print, and when it was originally transferred the black levels were not adjusted to the levels they should have been which resulted in some blacks appearing grayish. This results in selected scenes being robber of some added visual dynamics they would have had since the Superbit process increases the details over all.

The film looks very good, but if a new corrected film transfer had also been done, the results could have improved even more.

It's even more noticeable on this version, that not a lot of creativity went into the sound mix on this film. Brad Fiedel's electronic score utilizes the surround capabilities of a good home theater system much better than any of the sound effects in the film do. The center speakers are the primary focus of most of the sound and dialogue in the film. There is not much punch to any of the explosions or low bass effects used in the film. All of the sound (unless intentionally distorted) is clear and well separated.

It has to be said that when they open the annals of the worlds most underrated movies this will be at the top of the list. Keanu is well cast as JMn - some would say bereft of personality but I think that's missing the point, he's cool and professional, just as he should be. Ice-T plays the beleagured yet passionate freedom fighter with gusto and Dolph Lundengrundenhousen...en...whatever...is excellent as a twisted cyborg with a religious fixation. Everyone else is more than adequate in their roles. The plot is more subtle than the instant, intense visuals let on (and this is where a lot of people seem to trip up as they do not see past the cheese) and the movie stands up well to multiple viewings which is what you want from a video. All in all, a great package for any sci-fi fan and a must for Gibsonette's. Buy.

This disappointing rendition of William Gibson's far-superior short story proves why a dedication to science fiction among all members of a production team is absolutely necessary. Those involved in the transition from the page to the screen failed to grasp that traditional storytelling techniques, such as balance of set-up and pay-off or the development of character motivation, are necessary to create the best possible picture. The movie is overly dependent on showy special effects and surprise twists to the exclusion of plausibility and a sense of place for all the actions. A cast of no-names trying to be multicultural in their own Euro-American way doesn't help -- Ice-T is not an actor, and the actors playing yakuza need to be reminded that having the eyes and speaking the language isn't all that makes a person truly Japanese. Keanu Reeves is interesting but not really worthwhile in what must have been basically a dry-run for his appearance in The Matrix, but Reeves is essentially an actor of type, and that type is not a high-gloss business powerhouse. An early scene in which Reeves' fling from the night before leaves the room on the pretext of fetching ice is consistent with audience reaction to this ill-considered turkey.

william gibson's short story comes to the screen as just another over blowen action movie and the reason is gibson. he adopts his own short story and fall into hollywood land with a thud. he had a chance to really bring his "cybrepunk" story to the screen and do something great but the action movie he came up with isn't it. i liked the movie as an action movie but it was easy to see where it was going and i wanted more from gibson. maybe i just wanted to much because it does give you some action that is pretty good but it could have been great. nice try but no cigar. keanu reeves is very good as johnny but he has nothing to do. check out his "speed" to see him in a better light

I don't recommend buying this DVD. It's the type of movie that you might watch and enjoy once or twice, but never again. The script and plot are both kind of bland -- a typical world-is-going-to-end sci-fi plot. Keanu Reeves also has a less-than-stellar performance, but it's not his fault -- the script really gave him nothing to work with.

Great movie-very Cyberpunkish if you're into that type of thing especially. Keano Reeves played a kind-of unfeeling character (as I would assume many people will be in the future, even moreso than now), who later realizes there is more at stake than his own self, and begins to think about the rest of the world. Good cyber stuff.

Keanu Reeves uploads encrypted data into his modified brain as a high-tech courier. Apparently he has a low capacity brain, because he had to wipe out his childhood for less storage space than I have at home. With the Yakuza, a cybernetic Dolph Lundgren (who barely deserves mention) and an evil corporation on his tails, a group of "underground" doctors try to salvage the cure to an international plague from his decaying (overloaded) brain. Amusing note -- the "plague", Neural Attenuation Syndrome, is simply humanity's over-exposure to technology. More technophobic BS.

This movie tries to do a lot of things and fails. It fails to be the feature-length version of the short story. It fails to be epic. It fails to be soul-searching, but succeeds at being preachy. It also fails to be entertaining. It's just a horrid script, and the movie is generally low budget.

Some reviewer wrote - Any movie that features both Henry Rollins and Ice T and Dolph Lundgren and a Dolphin in a tank with computers wet-wired into its brain can't be all bad.

Uhhhh are you kidding me? - That is very definition of bad.

Johnny Mnemonic is the worst movie I have ever seen. Not only is the acting, plot, dialogue, and directing terrible - but in the end the whole world is run by a FREAKIN DOLPHIN. A big plastic looking fake dolphin. I want my money back. I want a letter of apology from everyone even remotely involved in the making of this piece of trash. And the executives who green lighted this movie should be fired. I would rather have 10 root canals than see any part of this junk again. If you like this movie, you must be really high or really dumb.

This road kill is the result of a three-way collision between an inexperienced director, an under-cooked screenplay, and the early "acting" of Keanu Reeves. Irredeemable on almost every level, it's truly notable for two things: it contains some of the most poorly written dialogue ever screened (the "I want room service!" speech will have you hiding under the couch); and it goes off the rails quicker than "Showgirls". Keanu blows his first line - "We've got ice" - and it's all down hill from there. Reeves has improved immensely, and director Robert Longo is probably still in therapy, so perhaps we'll never see its like again. Like most people involved in this, they both claim it was destroyed by studio interference and panic-stricken re-editing which undermined the narrative structure. But it's hard to believe it would ever have been good. Avert your eyes and move on. There's nothing to see here.

Yes, you have to suspend your disbelief in certain areas, the plot for example. Yes, doubling 80 gigs to 160 gigs is laughable with the mega gigs available today (the movie was made over 15 years ago). Yes, Keanu Reeves acting is wooden (when is it not?) However, it is still a kick ass movie that is even better in blu-ray. Just think of it as a comic book type movie and just enjoy the ride. One thing is sure, it has never looked better.