Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I_should_be_reading_a_book Gloss over the <=3/10 and the =>9/10 reviews, they are either by people that demand absolute accountability for every plot nuance or folks that are part of the Willis' fandom. Neither have got this one right.This film is an entertaining thriller with lots of holes in its plot, boosted by an above average character interpretation by Bruce Willis, an excellent performance by Miko Hughes who delivers a solid autist boy so believable that gets you thinking he's the real thing. Kudos to director Harold Becker who guided young Hughes through a truly gripping role. The rest of the cast is, with nary a few fails, above average as well. If you are willing to pardon the predictable plot, some of the not so subtle technical holes in it and the satanisation of security and law enforcement agencies who appear to have a free rein on assasination you will have a good thrilling time with this one.

Tweekums Art Jeffries is an undercover FBI agent who has crossed his superiors and been given jobs that might be considered beneath somebody of his experience. Simon Lynch is a nine-year old autistic boy with a talent for puzzles; one day Simon solves a puzzle and calls the number encoded within it. The puzzle is a test of an 'unbreakable' code, known as 'Mercury', crucial to the protection of key US assets and those behind it will go to any measure to hide the fact that it can be cracked... including murder. Simon's parents are killed and he is reported missing; Agent Jeffries is called in and finds Simon hiding. The murder is made to look like murder-suicide but he is unconvinced; soon it becomes apparent that Simon is still in danger although at this point Jeffries has no idea why. If he is to protect Simon he will have to uncover why is being hunted and by whom.While this isn't Bruce Willis's best action thriller it is still pretty solid. There are plenty of exciting action set pieces and a decent central story. It does require some suspension of disbelief... not only the idea that Simon could crack a modern code just by looking at it but also that somebody would commit murder to 'protect America' when Simon's actions don't pose a threat; they merely show the code wasn't as good as everybody thought. This isn't too much of a problem though as the story moves at a good pace and it is only when it is over one thinks of such matters. Films of this type often have an unnecessary romance and I thought this might too but that cliché was nicely avoided. Bruce Willis does a fine job as agent Art Jeffries and Alec Baldwin is suitably villainous as bad-guy Nick Kudrow. The stand out performance comes from young Miko Hughes who gives a great performance as Simon. Overall I wouldn't call this a must see but it is still well worth watching if you are a fan of the genre.

Python Hyena Mercury Rising (1998): Dir: Harold Becker / Cast: Bruce Willis, Miko Hughes, Alec Baldwin, Chi McBride, Kim Dickins: This is a cliché burdened action farce with a ridiculous title. Bruce Willis plays an F.B.I agent put in charge of protecting a nine year old autistic savant who cracks a top secret code in a puzzle book. This upsets National Security Agent Alec Baldwin who orders the termination of the boy, which has already happened to his parents. Directed by Harold Becker who made Sea of Love and The Boost. Here he must work around dreary writing and stupid clichés and nothing he throws at the board seems to stick with any form of originality. Willis is likable but is he is doing nothing differently since his success with Die Hard. So he is there basically to beat the living snot out of bad guys. Miko Hughes whines a lot going into spasms. Perhaps it is his reaction to the reality that appearing in this film will follow him around for the rest of his life. Baldwin as the villain is a joke. Anyone who plots to kill a child has head trauma to begin with but with Baldwin, this guy is suppose to be sophisticated. Chi McBride and Kim Dickins also pop up in one of the many flat supporting roles. There is nothing of interest that viewers haven't already seen before. It is a dull story that never rises but viewers have that option before the film ends to rise and leave. Score: 1 / 10

David Love There are two great acting performances in this film. Bruce Willis plays Art Jeffries, an FBI agent with attitude. Miko Hughes plays Simon Lynch, an autistic savant with a gift for codebreaking. Both are believable but Miko Hughes is astonishing – one of the best ever screen performances by a child. The scenes between the pair of them are really touching and you can believe that Willis really likes kids. Perhaps he does.The US government's pursuit of Lynch in this film may at first appear overly far-fetched and scaremongering. Then you remember the US attitude towards the British savant, Gary McKinnon, who was accused of perpetrating the biggest military computer hack of all time by hacking into 97 US military and NASA computers in 2002. Well, they didn't kill his mum and dad, and hunt him like an animal. But after 10 years of attempted extradition, and speculation of a 70-year jail term, maybe this story is just an exaggeration of reality, and not quite as ridiculous as some commentators have suggested.It's not really a downside but if you come to this film expecting a shoot-em-up action movie, you may be disappointed. It's much more than that and consequently slower – it's a touching drama with action scenes, and so we can forgive, just about, the pace through the middle of the film. The writing is actually very good and Pearson, Konner and Rosenthal all deserve credit.I did find the score a bit distracting. Sort of 'too big' and too 'James Bond' for the film. Scenes without music were better. Though the music being played at the club Jeffries visits was really good and I would have liked to have heard more of Koko Taylor (now no longer with us) belting out some blues.I was finding it difficult to see where this film was going. When Wills is with a kid, like in 16 blocks or Die Hard 4, you expect a visible end point, and there wasn't one. There was a sense of going around in circles. Until the last 5 minutes. Ultimately that cost it a couple of stars and the score lost another one. So seven out of ten for this.