MovieChat Forums > Johnny Mnemonic (1995) Discussion > The most horribly-dated sci-fi film so f...

The most horribly-dated sci-fi film so far? Still fun.

posted 13 years ago by FreewheelinVertigo
23 replies | jump to latest

So it wasn't up to standarts even then, but the picture still enjoys cult following since this is the only William Gibson adaptation we've got (I don't count the New Rose Hotel, this one is even looser-based on a Gibson story). I think it pretty much summons the dorky 90s cyberpunk wave. With the Internet and new gadgets popping out of nowhere everyone was still confused and not like all of us actually knew how did the Web look like.

Now, everyone who is spoiled by Matrix and post-Matrix cinema, do you view the movie as a camp classic? I think it still has some chance to be one, plus 320 Gigs aside, the story wasn't that bad, ain't it? For me, Johnny Mnemonic occupies the same niche as futuristic architectural projects from 1950s - the future that never was. A piece of steampunk culture, of sorts.

Not sure they'll be re-issuing this one on Blu-ray that often so when it's on telly - get your VCRs and record the damn thing.

[–] DrWhen 13 years ago

No, the story wasn't that bad. The problem was with the editing in the second half. It just gets jumbled. I saw it in the theaters and thought it was pretty good until maybe the last 20 minutes. It's actually better now with pause and rewind.

[–] stazza 13 years ago

I still enjoy it as it is. Yeah 320 is small NOW but back then that was huge. This movie was ahead of it's time on so many levels and is still valid today and probably would be understood better by today's audiences than when it was released.

It's on right now in HD and when the blu ray is released I'll buy it

[–] jimmymack7 13 years ago

I concur, it's one of my favorite SF films and always will be. This film has a cult following among savvy SF film buffs.

Lófaszt, nehogy már. Te vagy a Blade ... Blade Runner

[–] cmtmj2006 10 years ago

Amen brother. I saw this movie back in 1995 and it was the bomb. The cool one liners sold me right there. I'm addicted to it even after 19 years. Its a GenX dude movie. Even the soundtrack was great.

[–] alphax-3 13 years ago

320GB is still huge. What modern tech would you use to fit 320GB in your brain nowadays? A 2.5 inch hard drive? 7 optical disks? 10 SD cards?

[–] Nizzemancer-1 13 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LS-R

Light travels faster than sound,
that's why people seem bright,
until you hear them.

[–] epigenetics 13 years ago

Saw it on cable tonight and man it seems dated now but still one of my favorites. I'm sure the film got Keanu the chance to be auditioned in The Matrix. Interesting role choices - wonder what he'll do next. Anyway, crazy mix of images; exploding cars, dolphin with gear in a tank, brain hacking, Ice Tee! Gotta love it.

[–] Neoblackdragon 12 years ago

I feel that the device wasn't simply some small hard drive put inside his head but integrated into his brain/nervous system that allowed it to do much more.

[–] Thirdover4 8 years ago

You can get a 250 gig flash drive at Bestbuy for $70.00. If you strip away everything but the memory it's not much bigger than a single 2 SD cards end to end. In a few years they will likely be smaller than an sd card with much higher capacity.

[–] daan_de_geus 12 years ago

It's a fun movie. Not great, imho, just fun and definitely worth watching once a year or so. The story and concepts are pretty intruiging, which is no surprise considering the source material, and I agree on enjoying 'the future that never was' kind of stories.

Gotta also agree on it being dated on the other hand. Not a movie that has aged well. Though, to be fair, it was dated the moment it came out. It looks and plays like it was made in the mid 80s instead of the mid 90s. Hell, Blade Runner, which was made 12/13 years before this, almost looks better and more modern.

[–] FreewheelinVertigo 12 years ago

Though, to be fair, it was dated the moment it came out. It looks and plays like it was made in the mid 80s instead of the mid 90s.
_____

Not sure why it came to me so late, but this movie really looks like Escape from NY. Also, it reminds me of Hackers for some reason. Another cult turd I love.

The Power of Positive Drinking

[–] the_la_baker 11 years ago

Though, to be fair, it was dated the moment it came out. It looks and plays like it was made in the mid 80s instead of the mid 90s.

Do you own a 320 GB flash drive? I don't, they are really expensive. Do you know anyone with a 320GB flash drive neurologically wired into their brain? The internet STILL isn't as cool as it is in the film. The Pharmacon tech guys use super high tech Minority Report style UIs that don't exist today(AFAIK). ect ect ect

WTF are you people talking about!?

Dated my a$$.....

[–] iPadCary 10 years ago

You hafta remember: 99% of the moviegoing public are imbeciles.
Case in point: the dopes who say that this movie’s dated.

If someone can produce a minidisc-sized 320GB piece of media, I'm all ears.
Yeah, I know all about HVDs, but they only came out 10 years ago,
and there still isn't a minidisc of 320 GB capacity.
Plus, this movie's set 6 years from now, 2021,
so there's still plenty of time for such a disc to be released.

The story is terriffic: a data overloaded society's disease called NAS
and the efforts of a wetware data courier to transfer the stolen cure from Big Pharma.
He doesn't know [at first] or care what the data is as long as it's removed and he's paid ASAP.
Marvelous!!

[–] cmtmj2006 10 years ago

I saw this movie in 95 and loved it, still do. Reeves one liners were sweet and virtual reality was a super concept of the times. The cast was super cool, Ice T, Rollins and lungren 360 gigabites was a huge number when most hard drives were less than 5 gigs. I guess I'm one of those cult followers because I was an Xer in college back thin and the movie was like a rollercoaster. 40 years from now I'll still be watching it.

[–] Anrkey 10 years ago

My first personal computer that was my own and my own alone was in 1997 and it only had 11gb of space. I recall thinking how massive it was and how difficult it would be to fill it up. I never did hit the limit, most things ran directly from the CD or disk you put in or gave you the option to install more but there wasn't much need to because the 400mhz Compaq I had was more than capable of keeping things running smoothly.

Those were the days.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Prismark10 10 years ago

The story was intriguing, its strangely dated an prophetic, but the film rather did not come off. A near miss.

Its that man again!!

[–] kass-jazz 10 years ago

But there must be a way in this fabulous, amazing high tech future to just send the data via secure email instead of inside someones brain!

[–] jimmymack7 10 years ago

lol.....secure email?...there is no 100% secure email

"Lófaszt, nehogy már. Te vagy a Blade ... Blade Runner"

[–] [deleted] 7 years ago

sure there is - pick strongest method available,
http://www.toptenreviews.com/software/articles/secure-encryption-methods/
encrypt data , attach to email.
You may struggle with a 320gb attachment though.