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Mercury Rising

Play trailer Poster for Mercury Rising R Released Apr 3, 1998 1h 52m Mystery & Thriller Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
21% Tomatometer 57 Reviews 40% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
"Mercury Rising" stars Bruce Willis as Art Jeffries, a renegade FBI agent who combats ruthless federal agents to protect Simon (Miko Hughes), a 9-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government's new unbreakable code. He can read MERCURY, the most advanced encryption code yet created, as easily as other kids read English. This ability renders the new billion-dollar secret code vulnerable, especially if enemies of the United States should learn of Simon's abilities and capture him.
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Mercury Rising

Mercury Rising

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Critics Consensus

Mercury Rising lays the action on thick, but can never find a dramatic pulse to keep viewers -- or Bruce Willis -- engaged with its maudlin story.

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Critics Reviews

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Keith Phipps AV Club There's such a lack of vision behind Mercury Rising that the title could have it going in either direction and it would still end up in the same familiar place. Apr 23, 2020 Full Review Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader The actors' serious faces are out of place in this hopelessly silly action conspiracy. Apr 21, 2020 Full Review Mark Caro Chicago Tribune Baldwin's Kudrow is a one-dimensional, humorless variation on his corporate tyrant in Glengarry Glen Ross. Apr 21, 2020 Full Review Clarín Staff Clarín Offers the viewer a pleasant surprise. [Full review in Spanish] Apr 23, 2020 Full Review Margaret Pomeranz At the Movies (Australia) I must admit I was underwhelmed by Mercury Rising - in fact the temperature actually sank. Rated: 2/5 Apr 23, 2020 Full Review Total Film Staff Total Film This should never have been made. Avoid it and pretend it wasn't. Rated: 1/5 Apr 21, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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soul s I don't know if I've looked this one up on Rotten Tomatoes before. And I will have to check to see if I'm doing a double review here but this baffles me that this can be sitting here at 21%. How many great movies are there? I mean there are the greats the Scorsese films and of course many others.. but just like a movie like the score with DeNiro and Edward norton.. this is a great film. I don't understand how this has this kind of reviews it is a taut Thriller extremely well done I don't know of a Bruce Willis movie that's much better besides Die Hard 3 and of course the original Die Hard. And he is amazing in Pulp fiction. I mean look there are a lot of great movies I'm not saying this is a Quentin Tarantino film but this is a ridiculously low rating and if anyone is looking this up to see this.. I always think going into a movie thinking it's going to be great is not a good way. I remember I was so pumped up as a Coen Brothers fan for No Country for Old Men and I think I was too excited and then I went to the theater and I really didn't like it and and now of course it's one of my favorite movies ever so I think it's better to go in I don't know if it's low expectations is the right way to put it.. but just not being overhyped always helps. But if you are reading this and you're considering seeing this and you have not this is absolutely insane that this holds this kind of rating. I would think it would be given Short change and a short measuring stick of reviews if this was low 70s. This is a really good movie. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/25 Full Review Audience Member A realy great story! But Baldwin was not so good The Autism is good but a bit too much wrong to see what it realy is not everyone is like that i have it too Not a lot of Action maybe more like a drama and i think it was still great! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/25/25 Full Review thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 05/24/25 Full Review Joel H Mercury Rising wasn’t at all what I expected. I’m sure this film crossed my radar when it came out in 1998, but I just never bothered to learn more about it. The problem is that the plot is half generic action flick and half after-school special. I don’t blame Miko Hughes, because he was only doing what he was directed to do, and the kid is acting his heart out, but there were some moments with little Simon that were fairly awkward. I appreciate the fact that these filmmakers were trying to tackle the topic of autism back in the late 90s, but Mercury Rising just wasn’t the right vehicle for it. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/25/25 Full Review Kenny K I don't get the low reviews on this one. Classic Bruce Willis. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/25 Full Review Jerod S Mercury Rising is full of talent, but gets sludgy after the first 20 minutes. the 90s treatment of autism is also something to note. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/20/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Mercury Rising

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Movie Info

Synopsis "Mercury Rising" stars Bruce Willis as Art Jeffries, a renegade FBI agent who combats ruthless federal agents to protect Simon (Miko Hughes), a 9-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government's new unbreakable code. He can read MERCURY, the most advanced encryption code yet created, as easily as other kids read English. This ability renders the new billion-dollar secret code vulnerable, especially if enemies of the United States should learn of Simon's abilities and capture him.
Director
Harold Becker
Producer
Brian Grazer, Karen Kehela Sherwood
Screenwriter
Ryne Douglas Pearson, Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Distributor
Universal Pictures
Production Co
Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment
Rating
R (Violence|Language)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 3, 1998, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 18, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$32.9M
Runtime
1h 52m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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