`Johnny Mnemonic' Has Familiar Look

Movie review XX "Johnny Mnemonic," with Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren. Directed by Robert Longo, from a script by William Gibson, based on his short story. Aurora, Crossroads, Factoria, Gateway, Grand Cinemas Alderwood, Issaquah 9, Kirkland Parkplace, Metro, Newmark, Mountlake 9, Parkway Plaza, Valley drive-in. "R" - Restricted because of language, violence.

"I want room service!"

That's the cry of the beleaguered hero (Keanu Reeves) of "Johnny Mnemonic," but it sounds like the desperation of a screenwriter in search of a laugh. It got one last night at the movie's preview screening, but at the expense of much else.

Suspense, dramatic credibility and thriller logic - all of them in peril - disintegrated at that point. The movie suddenly became a buildup to a silly punch line, and it was far from over. Several more explosions, graphic amputations and meaningless virtual-reality special effects later, it simply ground to a halt.

The latest overblown video game to reach your multiplex, "Johnny Mnemonic" has more interesting credentials than "Double Dragon," "Ride For Your Life" and others of its kind. It was written by cyberpunk novelist William Gibson, winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick awards for his 1984 novel, "Neuromancer," and directed by Robert Longo, a painter-sculptor who has been dabbling in music videos for R.E.M. and New Order.

But this is Longo's first feature-length film and Gibson's first produced screenplay, and their inexperience shows. The movie is a series of ostentatious effects, without much sense of narrative momentum or rhythmic pacing, and it leaves you feeling like you've landed on a treadmill.

Given Longo and Gibson's backgrounds, however, there was reason to expect something that at least looked and felt unusual. What's surprising is how generic the visuals are, and how little "Johnny Mnemonic" departs from genre conventions. It resembles dozens of other movies that have envisioned the future as a dark and grimy urban wasteland.

Reeves' detractors will no doubt be delighted to hear that he has been cast as a 21st century courier who has removed his own memory in order to make room for the programs he smuggles for corporate clients. All Bill and Ted jokes aside, however, he does as well as anyone could with a character who has deliberately wiped out all access to his own childhood.

Also part of the international cast are the single-named Japanese actor, Takeshi, as a yakuza chief; Dolph Lundgren as a vicious bounty hunter they hire to find Johnny; Udo Kier as Johnny's treacherous agent; and Dina Meyer, Henry Rollins and Ice-T as the rebels who turn out to be the only people he can trust.

They all want the latest program in Johnny's head, a cure for something called "the black shakes," which is possibly caused by "information overload." Johnny wants to get rid of it because he's not equipped to carry it for long. In fact, his brain will melt if he doesn't download the priceless information soon. His pursuers, who are fond of decapitating people with a laser cord, just want his head.

"I want a full restoration; I want it all back," Johnny says at one point. He's talking about memories, but you may be thinking of the dollars and 90-plus minutes you've just sacrificed to experience this soft-headed software.