Mercury Rising

"Someone knows too much."

1998 1h 51m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🥫

21%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.1

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 1,738🥫21%Rotten Tomatoes●37Metacritic★6.1IMDB · 80,918

ActionCrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Renegade FBI agent Art Jeffries protects a nine-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government's new "unbreakable" code.

“Someone knows too much.”

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Cast

Bruce Willis
Art Jeffries
Alec Baldwin
Nicholas Kudrow
Miko Hughes
Simon Lynch
Chi McBride
Tommy B. Jordan
Kim Dickens
Stacey
Robert Stanton
Dean Crandell
Bodhi Elfman
Leo Pedranski
Carrie Preston
Emily Lang

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Harold Becker
Writers: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

202+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Harold Becker, shot by Michael Seresin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Honess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin and Miko Hughes carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Someone knows too much.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Harold Becker directs. Michael Seresin behind the camera. John Barry scores. Peter Honess cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
228 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3202+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Harold Becker, shot by Michael Seresin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Peter Honess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin and Miko Hughes carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Someone knows too much.".
9IMDB entry: tt0120749 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 10 themes, including "assassin", "undercover agent", "loss of loved one", "fbi".
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Seresin
Original score: John Barry
Editing: Peter Honess
Production design: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Costume design: Betsy Heimann
Makeup / hair: Gerald Quist
VFX supervisor: Michael Owens
Stunt coordinator: Joe Dunne
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $93,100,000
Return: 155% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Mercury Rising (1998)
Rotten Tomatoes: 21% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 37/100
IMDB rating: 6.1/10 · 80,918 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins total

Also by

Harold Becker

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-08-28
★ 6/10
I'd have to admit that at the start - however politically incorrect it is to say - I though that the mix of Bruce Willis as an independently minded FBI agent and Miko Hughes ("Simon") as a boy genius with very loud, and annoying, autism was going to be a difficult film to sit through. Luckily, the initial in-your-face character establishment settles down and the somewhat preposterous plot takes over quite quickly. The US Government runs a competition to see whether anyone can decipher it's supposedly unbreakable "Mercury" code and young Mr. Hughes is genuinely convincing as the young lad who can break it just by looking at the thing. When he calls in to claim his prize, all hell breaks loose and soon he and Willis are dodging the NSA and the FBI as they try to get to the bottom of this rather far-fetched, but entertaining conspiracy. This is of those films that reminds you why Willis became a star in the first place; he was never the greatest actor to take to the big screen, but he has bags of charisma and here he uses it to full effect. He and his charge bond well - given the youngster has precious little salient dialogue; and it is action-packed enough to pass the two hours in a satisfactory way. I am never sure why Alec Baldwin is cast at all - he is really a terribly wooden actor, though here he is given a run for his money by the equally stolid Chi McBride as Willis' FBI chum. It's nowhere near as bad as some people seem to think...
daniel_carr2026-01-15
★ 8/10
Two of my favorite actors and once again shows that if you have a great story you don't need special effects! This was an amazing movie, emotional and what movie making is all about. Great job!