Looking back, this movie is definitely one of the low points of 90s cinema, made uninspiredly from the golden formula borrowed from countless better movies with a similar rogue cop plot. First you need - 1 agent / police who must fight against bureaucracy; + 1 Black sidekick who is good with supporting from remote; + 1 forgetable chick who offers help blindly and unconditionally; + someone to save who always runs off or get caught and need saving; and don't forget the bad guy who has a crooked justice in his big head and a s*** load of authority.

There are actually plenty of flicks back then (and still now) which are actually well made using this formula, but if you happened to do too little or too much, there is still a chance you mess up big time and you end up burning millions of dollars to produce 120 minutes of trash time and wasted talent here and there.

Mercury rising is definitely one of the cases where they mess up, but too little or too much you ask? Well, I don't know and I don't want to know. Do you?

While this isn't the best movie of its genre out there, I certainly don't think the generally awful reviews are warranted. The cast did a good job carrying this movie and while the plot had a few loopholes, it's still far more watchable than alot of the fbi action fims saturating the market today.

Mercury Rising is a stereotypical ‘90s action film that’s fairly entertaining, but familiar. When a 9-year-old autistic boy accidentally cracks a top secret government encryption code a rogue section of the NSA attempts to eliminate him. The story’s pretty ridiculous and is full of plot holes, but the chases and fight sequences add a lot of energy to the film. Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, and Chi McBride lead the cast, and are able to add some personality to otherwise rote characters. While it may be a by-the-numbers thriller, Mercury Rising is a solid and enjoyable film that’s full of action.

I think the typecasting of the "rebel" FBI Agent has pretty much been done to death. Bruce must think he has a corner on the market. The story in _Mercury Rising_ had potential but I just don't think the director got out of it what he could have. I think the kid playing Simon was probably the best part of the movie. I thought he did a really nice job of making you believe. The cheesy sound effect when he would "read" the code really had to go though. If Simon had such a fear of strangers, why was he OK to be handed off to Stacey and even spend the night at her apartment. She wasn't even ticked at Bruce when he left Simon with her in the coffee house and actually apologized to him. Alec Baldwin--such a long way from the Jack Ryan days. His career has plummeted so far that these are the types of roles he gets now, the lame bad guy (see _Cat in the Hat_---on second thought DON'T). Not much else to say. Movie felt long and I don't think I'll ever feel the need to watch it again

A very good action/drama film starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. "Mercury Rising" is an enjoyable film with its good action sequences and a very good emotional balance between Drama and Action.