This month, Cody, Robert, and Nat jack into the futuristic world of 2021 and the cyberpunk ideas of William Gibson with 1995’s JOHNNY MNEMONIC.
JOHNNY MNEMONIC, directed by Robert Longo and written by William Gibson, seems to have all the elements of a genre defining hit. In this case, the genre would be cyberpunk. In many ways they were on the right track, but the breakthrough cyberpunk film would be THE MATRIX all of four years later.
JOHNNY MNEMONIC has echoes of noir films such as D.O.A. leading to a natural comparison with BLADE RUNNER. Johnny has something important in his head that he has to get out before it kills him. If the Yakuza doesn’t get him first. Those noir beats perhaps explain why a black and white version has a cult following, but the film always struggles between its noir influences, cyberpunk stylings, and demands for studio action beats without finding a way to integrate them fully.
But, even flawed films can have their points of interest. JOHNNY MNEMONIC is no exception with intriguing art direction, interesting casting, Takeshi Kitano, Keanu Reeves, Ice-T, Dina Meyers, and Dolph Lundgren as a cyborg street preacher assassin who could have stepped out of a Frank Miller comic. It really may be the studio mandated action that’s the most boring part of the film.
And it’s always interesting to take a look at a movie that was once set in the future but is now set in the past to try to figure out what it got right and what it got wrong. Are we living in a digital hellscape where corporations control everything? Sure seems like it at times.
We always aim for a film that will spark interesting conversations, whether it’s particularly good or not. That’s especially true of a film where you can see where it would fully blossom. But there are no sacred cows here and we get deep into the original story and William Gibson’s cyberpunk ideas and how Hollywood wasn’t ready for them.
No need to overload your brain with data to enjoy the podcast; give us a play below or download the episode. Also, feel free to let us know what you think by commenting on our page at Facebook or you can Email Us at skiespocast@gmail.com as we appreciate feedback.
Time tracks:
0:00:00 – JOHNNY MNEMONIC Discussion
1:18:45- Next Movie and Outro
Next month, we will be joined by Kurt Halfyard formerly of the Row 3 Cinecast as we discuss the 1980s’ mini-series V and V: The Final Battle. Speculate on how those are relevant and what our running time is going to be. We hope you’ll join us.
