JOHNNY MNEMONIC

The film follows Keanu Reeves’ Johnny, a data courier who carries files internally thanks to an implant in his brain. However, after accidentally taking on too much data that risks his own life and being chased across the world by the Yakuza, Johnny finds himself in a race against time to get the data out of his head and into the hands of its recipient before it’s too late.

Thankfully, the film as a whole is about as ridiculous as it sounds – and it’s all the better for it. Too many genre movies fall into the trap of taking themselves extremely seriously, and it’s always to the detriment of the final product. Luckily for us, Johnny Mnemonic is not one of those movies. Yes, it’s complete nonsense, and no, it shouldn’t work – but if you switch off and enjoy the ride, there’s plenty of fun to be had. As a whole piece, the movie just clicks. It’s sprawling and silly and has no right to work at all, but it somehow just does. It’s not a masterpiece by any means, but it was definitely misunderstood at the time. As genre movies go it’s heaps of fun, and more than worth your time – just don’t try to overthink it.
Matt Taylor, Starburst magazine.