Mercury Rising (1998)

This is an action film with a lot of emotion behind it. It has a real heart felt story that questions plausibility and true credibility at times but it really hits home as it evokes genuine sentiment and feeling through a brutal world we now live in. This to date is the last great action film staring Bruce Willis. His performance of the dedicated civil servant doing what is right against all odds is admirable. His adversary Alec Baldwin stands for all that is wrong with a system that is supposed to protect our way of life and liberties while sacrificing the innocent trying to protect it at the enrichment of his own ego. At the center is a small autistic boy who supposedly can compromise Baldwin's plans who is being protected by FBI agent Willis who has fallen from grace. In simplest terms it is a film of right and goodness against greed and evil. On that level this film works. This film contains one of John Barry's last great scores as it gives credence to the story by bringing our most tearfully compassionate emotions to the surface while driving the narrative with an impassioned purpose. I like this film a lot I think because it takes the hardened tough good guy hero image and on an emotional level shows what drives him and what's really makes his heart tick.

I happen to be a fan of most Bruce Willis' movies. That said most people would be hard pressed not to find at least one of these three movies they didn't enjoy. Considering the low cost of the three if you enjoy all three as I do then you really make out well.

12 Monkeys is a SciFi with Bruce travelling in time to stop an epidemic that will wipe out mankind. Masterfully directed it has a surreal feel to it but you find yourelf drawn into it. Includes great parts by Madeline Stowe and Brad Pitt.

Mercury Rising has Bruce protecting an autistic child that solves a code in a puzzle from a company that will stop at nothing to ensure it is kept unsolvable.

The Jackal has Bruce playing an assassin that is planning to take out a prominent American politician. It has an outstanding cast including Jack Black, Sidney Poitier, and Richard Gere.

Good quality DVDs with great replayability. If you enjoyed these catch "Hostage" and "Striking Distance".

CA Luster

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This is a Bruce Willis "best of" 3-DVD compilation which includes 3 of this most action-packed movies of the '90s:

12 MONKEYS (1995) special edition

Rated-R / 2 hours & 10 mins.

This is a fascinating sci-fi movie with lots of twists and turns. It almost reminds me of "The Outer Limits." The movie is very complex and almost haunting in it's surrealism. Bruce Willis gave one of his best dramatic performances ever as James Cole, a man sent back in time to save the world. I enjoyed the character of Kathryn Railly (played by b-movie queen, Madeleine Stowe) very much, as well, because she added both a sense of realism and continuity. Brad Pitt as the resident kook, Jeffrey Goines, was just all over the place. The guy was a little nutty but it was pretty hot when he pulled his pants down. "12 Monkeys" is the type of movie that will invoke thought and discussion. I don't want to give it away but this is also not the type of movie that is all tied up once you finish it. The 2005 DVD includes the original trailer as well as a featurette.

MERCURY RISING (1998) collector's edition

Rated-R / 1 hour & 52 mins.

The film starts out with Art (Bruce) as an undercover FBI agent inside a bank trying to negotiate with the criminals. He was close to getting the entire bank free of harms way, but when the place is stormed and there is bloodshed Art totally loses his cool and clocks the guy in charge. So much for diplomacy. After being demoted, Art is put in charge of investigating the mysterious disappearance of Simon Lynch (played the Miko Hughes, the smartass from "Full House.")

THE JACKAL (1997) collector's edition

Rated-R / 2 hours & 5 mins.

Even though Bruce plays such a violet criminal there is still something fascinating and almost endearing about him. Maybe it's because this is the very first Bruce Willis movie that I saw in which he played a horrible villain. In "The Jackal" Bruce plays the title character, a ruthless assassin who will not let anyone or anything get in his way. This movie is also notable for featuring Bruce Willis' only same-sex kiss. This was totally unexpected and kinda hot because this is not in line with his character's persona at all. The film starts out somewhat slow-moving but it sure picks up pace once the Jackal goes to work. Besides Bruce, I also especially enjoyed Diane Venora as a Russian major who is almost as smart as the Jackal. What's also memorable about this movie is all of the different looks that Bruce goes as the Jackal commits his crimes. My favorite look was the one he had for the shortest period, with the scruffy facial hair and mustache and short dark hair and cowboy boots. Like a fine violinist, Bruce plays this role with precision and art because he is constantly able to keep the viewers captivated.

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Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who is assigned to protect a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code. This moves at a breakneck speed building tension along the way as various covert types try to put a bullet in Willis and companies collective head. "Mercury Rising" is a very entertaining and solid thriller.

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As the mother of an autistic child, I was intrigued by this movie when I found it while channel surfing. I choose not to comment on the believability or likeability of the plot, but will say instead that the actor who played Simon, the young autistic boy, did an OUTSTANDING job. The writers, apparently, also did some research on the condition. The use of the cards Simon kept pinned to his belt was right on the money. Autistic children comprehend so much better visually, and through the printed word, than they do through listening to people speak. The scene where Simon is spinning wheels on a toy car is also very realistic. My only other comment is on the irony that, in 1998, before anybody figured out or suggested that mercury causes autism (this is a theory first posed in 1999 and gaining more and more credibility every day),the producers had the foresight to name their movie about an autistic boy "Mercury Rising."

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