Johnny Mnemonic

Time Out says

He-man Johnny (Reeves, playing mannequin) has two chips, one on his shoulder, the other in his brain, the latter being one of the latest in data-storage enhancers. For this mnemonic courier inhabits the cyberpunk future. The banal dystopia, virtually realised here, is a weird mix of the familar and unfamilar: architecturally, decayed hi-tech; politically, gangster-like international neo-capitalism - an interspace between Blade Runner and '70s James Bond. The plot: Johnny is forced to double-load his memory to transport one last mega-program. Short of space, he's already sacrificed recall of his childhood (despite painful disjointed flashes), and now has quickly to download before his head explodes. Realising the info's importance, he joins forces with punkette Jane (Meyer) to elude Pharmakon agents and the yakuza through the streets of 'Free' New Jersey. Directing his first feature, artist Longo seems dazzled, like a rabbit, by sheer visual overload. Lundgren's arch-villain, half Visigoth, half demented Jesus freak, fits perfectly, but Takeshi's yakuza is sadly wasted. Might suit very undemanding teenagers.

Author: WH