Mercury Rising

 (1998)

Mercury Rising Blu-ray offers solid video and superb audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
Renegade FBI agent Art Jeffries combats ruthless Federal agents to protect Simon, a nine-year-old autistic boy who has cracked MERCURY, the government's new billion-dollar "unbreakable" code. Program Chief Nick Kudrow orders the "security threat" eliminated.

For more about Mercury Rising and the Mercury Rising Blu-ray release, see the Mercury Rising Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on January 10, 2011 where this Blu-ray release scored 2.5 out of 5.

Starring: Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Kim Dickens, Carrie Preston, Chi McBride
Director: Harold Becker

» See full cast & crew

Mercury Rising Blu-ray Review

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Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, January 10, 2011

Hollywood likes to jump on various bandwagons, not to state the obvious. Sometime a few years ago autism became the newest cause célèbre, albeit one with some personal connections, as various stars (like Jenny McCarthy) actually had children who had been diagnosed with the disability. Autism is one of the most misunderstood and some would argue misdiagnosed ailments in current medical circles. My own nephew is "heavily involved," as autism experts term those with severe disabilities, and his father (my wife's brother) is an M.D. who is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading autism researchers, one whose theories of a dietary component to the disease have led to several bestsellers, so seeing the affliction portrayed in the mass media is perhaps more of a personal event for me than it is for those who only know of autism through the relatively recent mass media coverage autism has received. While it's a good thing to bring a disease to the awareness of the public at large, autism, more than other, perhaps more readily understood maladies, has suffered from not only news coverage, where a variety of competing theories about the cause of the disease has led to some dismissing the disease itself as a reality, to popular cultural approaches, where everything from the linked Asperger's Syndrome to "heavily involved" sufferers of autism have just as frequently been lumped under the same rubric. In Mercury Rising we're confronted by a supposedly heavily involved autism sufferer who is nonetheless also a sort of idiot savant, as unseemly and politically incorrect a label as that may be. Here autism is depicted as a disease which prevents a young child from communicating (a relatively accurate depiction, at least in many cases) while at the same time allowing him to break a super-secret United States intelligence code, which of course puts the lad in extreme danger. This sort of sensationalistic use of a very severe disability is troubling at the least and when coupled with the often outlandish twists and turns Mercury Rising takes makes the film so distasteful that any putative thriller elements are often left in the dust.

"Are you the agent who got me cast in this thing?"

Bruce Willis portrays troubled FBI agent Art Jeffries, a man who in Mercury Rising's pat opening gambit sees a hostage situation go horribly awry, despite Jeffries' best efforts to mitigate a tense situation. Miko Hughes portrays young autism sufferer Simon Lynch, who has the misfortune of solving a cryptographic code which (in one of the film's ridiculous plot points) was published in a code magazine to see if any reader could break it. To make matters worse, Simon contacts the code's authors with his solution, which of course instantly puts his life in danger at the hands of a nefarious Colonel Kudrow (Alec Baldwin) who, in the best nonsensical film thriller mode, decides that rather than offer the kid a job, he'll kill him instead. Hit men are dispatched who quickly off Simon's hapless parents, but Simon is nowhere to be found. Guess who finds him and shepherds him to safety, encountering a massive governmental frame job along the way? If it took more than one guess, Mercury Rising may in fact provide some passing entertainment value for you, as its cliché-ridden approach probably will strike you as fresh and exciting. If, however, you've seen any child in peril film of the past half century or so, chances are you will predict virtually every supposed twist that Mercury Rising dishes up.

I couldn't help but wonder what exactly Mercury Rising hoped to accomplish with its autism themed story. Of course the film is based on a pre-existing novel entitled Simple Simon, but someone somewhere in the optioning process must have thought, "Wow! A child with autism who cracks a code and is in imminent danger! What a story!" It's the sensationalistic use of this very real affliction that is the most disturbing element of Mercury Rising, but the fact that the film itself travels such a well worn road virtually every step of the way means that even that supposedly "innovative" plot point never amounts to much more than a gimmick, which is in fact all it ends up being.

Willis is Willis yet again in a film that utilizes his "hang-dog" side as a troubled man attempting some sort of personal spiritual salvation through the auspices of helping an even more afflicted young man. Miko Hughes is excellent as Simon, not overplaying the autism to the point where it would pass into self parody, but at the same time showing the audience the human side of an affliction which robs some sufferers of one of the most human characteristics imaginable—the ability to communicate with each other. Baldwin does delve into depths of self-parody with his completely hyperbolic portrayal. The problem is exacerbated by Baldwin's more recent career renaissance as a comedic actor, and one can't help but wonder if he's playing some of these scenes strictly for laughs, albeit ironic ones.

Autism is a disturbing impediment which seems to be afflicting more and more children. A compelling film about the disease is a sterling idea, but it needs to be separated from the sort of formulaic thriller hoo-hah that Mercury Rising serves up in spades. It's perhaps unintentionally ironic that Mercury Rising itself fails to communicate with its audience, something that has next to nothing to do with its sensationalistic depiction of autism.

Mercury Rising Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Mercury Rising is a somewhat mixed bag on Blu-ray, with what is probably the same VC-1 encoded port that also was released on HD-DVD. The film, in 1080p and 2.35:1, suffers from what I must assume is intentionally low contrast in a lot of dimly lit shots, and though black levels are relatively good, the lack of clearly defined contrast tends to bathe these segments in a sort of shadowy murk that robs the image of some fine detail. The other troubling aspect to this transfer is some pretty noticeable edge enhancement. In fact, in one far shot of a plaza filled with backlit people scurrying about, I almost thought I had wandered into a cut scene from Willis' The Sixth Sense and was seeing spirits, so rampant was the haloing. (Sorry, couldn't resist). Otherwise, though, Mercury Rising sports a decently sharp and at times very well saturated image that fares best in brightly lit close-up scenes, where fine detail is excellent and at times exceptional. There does seem to be the typical Universal penchant for fairly aggressive DNR, but it's not at the egregious levels of other Uni catalog releases.

Mercury Rising Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

Much better is the finely immersive lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, which supplies a surprisingly varied soundscape that includes the requisite action sequences as well as quieter and more intimate scenes. The best elements in terms of complete immersion are the action sequences, notably the over the top finale which includes machine guns, an errant helicopter and Baldwin's sneer, which is virtually audible. In this segment we get gunshots scattered throughout the soundfield with sometimes alarming directionality, and a really fun and involving mix of sound effects and the occasional Helen Keller-ish scream from young Simon. The quieter elements of the film also fare very well, with crystal clear dialogue and well mixed (if occasionally cloying) underscore. Fidelity and dynamic range are both excellent throughout Mercury Rising..

Mercury Rising Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

The temperature doesn't soar on these paltry supplements:

• Watch the Mercury Rising (SD; 39:19) is a set of EPK featurettes which follow the film from optioning to post.
• Deleted Scenes (SD; 8:59) are a pretty forgettable set of chopped segments, with pretty horrible image quality.
• Trailer
• D-Box

The commentary included on previous releases of the film is notably missing.

Mercury Rising Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

Mercury Rising has two problems it can't overcome. It sensationalizes a devastating affliction for no good reason. More importantly, it covers the same ground that a thousand other films have trod. There's an intriguing premise buried underneath the clichés here, but the film never—ahem—rises to the occasion.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced two catalog titles for release on Blu-ray on September 14: Mercury Rising and Unleashed (also known as Danny the Dog). Both will come out on single-sided BD50 discs. Unleashed will include both the R-rated and ...