Mercury Rising

Name: Mercury Rising
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: April 3, 1998
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 37
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Bodhi Elfman, Bruce Willis, Carrie Preston, Chi McBride

1998

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Ratings

See All

6.4

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.4	Your Score
6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Mercury Rising

Now Playing: Mercury Rising

Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: April 3, 1998 | R

Starring: Alec Baldwin, Bodhi Elfman, Bruce Willis, Carrie Preston, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens, Lindsey Ginter, Miko Hughes, Peter Stormare, Robert Stanton

Summary: Shadowy figures in the National Security Agency target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he has shown the ability to decipher a top secret code.

Director: Harold Becker

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 111 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Michael O'Sullivan

But the real treat is seeing Big Daddy Bruce playing the papa bear part to the little lost boy. Sure, he loves his handgun, but for once Willis seems to enjoy his nurturing side as much as his Glock 19. [3 Apr 1998, p.N53]

Jay Carr

Every time the kid looks at a field of numbers and symbols that start jiggling across a screen to clicky music, but not jiggling as fast as his brain, he's exiling the kind of hero played by Willis to the scrapheap of history. [3 Apr 1998, p.D10]

Lawrence Toppman

A better-than-average thriller. That's a tribute to director Harold Becker and stars Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin, who stretch the script's one idea almost to its breaking point. [3 Apr 1998, p.8E]

Staff (Not Credited)

Mercury Rising won't raise many viewers' temperatures. A somber suspenser with an oddly disconnected assortment of characters and a lack of freshly conceived action, this tale of a maverick FBI agent who takes on malevolent government forces to protect an orphaned autistic child serves up some dramatic moments but never legitimately convinces. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Hugely expensive, weakly formulaic. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

The nuttiest thing about Mercury Rising is that when Alec Baldwin, as the silky-voiced evil defense honcho, explains that he took his cutthroat actions to protect the lives of American undercover agents, he actually sounds quite reasonable. You can just about feel the imbecility rising. Read full review

Lisa Alspector

The actors' serious faces are out of place in this hopelessly silly action conspiracy. Read full review

SEE ALL 25 REVIEWS

Write a Review

Negative:

User Reviews

FilipeNeto

Jan 16, 2022

When I saw this film I was very surprised because I seemed to notice similarities with "The Sixth Sense", a film that was released the following year, in 1999. Let's see: in both films, Bruce Willis is the protagonist and acts with a special child (for different reasons), trying to help herWhen I saw this film I was very surprised because I seemed to notice similarities with "The Sixth Sense", a film that was released the following year, in 1999. Let's see: in both films, Bruce Willis is the protagonist and acts with a special child (for different reasons), trying to help her in something. The same main actor, the same structure supporting the two scripts, the involvement of a child in both films, the temporal proximity between productions... it can't just be a coincidence... or can it?

In this film, Willis brings to life an FBI agent, expert in covert operations, who will, however, become interested in the situation of a boy, autistic and with a strong inclination to solve riddles and advanced mental problems, whose parents were mysteriously murdered. His action will, however, trigger an enormous operation, moved by secret elements within the American governmental apparatus, whose objective is to kill that boy. The reason? Inadvertently, he ended up breaking a high-security military code in which the government had invested millions, and which they believed to be the most advanced ever.

The film starts off very well, and it develops in a satisfactory way. Despite this, it never seems to be a cohesive work, perhaps because of a deficient editing work... it seems like a patchwork, in which the narrative line does not always make sense and which becomes more disjointed as the ending approaches, and the script does desperate efforts not to leave loose ends. The pace is quite good, and the action scenes are well done, although the tension and suspense don't always really work.

Willis proved to be an excellent protagonist. This role, moreover, seems to have been tailored to the qualities of this actor, who will achieve, at this stage of his career, several hits that will make him a name to be taken into account by Hollywood producers. Despite being very young, Miko Hughes also disentangled himself very well from his role, despite not being particularly demanding in my opinion. Alec Baldwin is a solid and consistent villain, and makes a restrained but effective participation.

Technically, it's a film that has solidity and quality. Not being a blockbuster, nor having the expressiveness and visual grandeur of the films in that record, it is committed to using quality visual and special effects, especially in action scenes. The cinematography is also very good and atmospheric, and the locations used in filming helped a lot. The soundtrack is not very noticeable, but it contributes merit notes to a well-rounded overall picture.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TylrR

Aug 6, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well what can I say about the film is that i really enjoyed the movie. I really like how the movie shows how the guilt that Art has after seeing that teenager die in the beginning of the movie really made him want to help and save Simon who is also a child. That is one of the main plot points that i really liked of this film. I know some of you people might think that their isnt much in this movie well you wrong this movie is a classic in its own genre it shows how far a good man will go to save a child in need of saving.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

LamontRaymond

Mar 4, 2018

Not nearly as bad as most critics would have you think. I didn't feel that having the kid be autistic was exploitative, and Willis brings his great action stuff. Even Baldwin wasn't TOO terrible.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 3 REVIEWS