Willis' 'Mercury' falls from lack of substance

REVIEW
	Mercury Rising At Showcase

One would think that there wouldn't be a larger source of creativity and originality than Hollywood, hub of the thousands of exciting and captivating movies that have ever been produced.

This may be true, but it seems as lately though the scriptwriters for blockbuster hits ran out of new plots for their movies.

Suspense movies in particular have lacked creativity in the past 10 years.

There are certain features of a suspense movie that are favorites for Hollywood producers: demeaning the government and FBI, favoring those who have weaknesses (especially those who are mentally or physically disabled) while at the same time, championing the strong and morally correct. And, in lieu of our technologically expanding world, digital electronics always get a lead role.

Using that recipe, Harold Becker ("Taps") dishes out his latest movie, "Mercury Rising," starring the ever-macho Bruce Willis and his greasy-haired opponent Alec Baldwin.

Basically, given the characters' roles, it's simple to figure out the scenario - and even the ending. Just plug in the right formulas for a typical Hollywood suspense, and a movie is made.

Art Jeffries (Willis) is an FBI undercover agent who feels completely betrayed by the government agency he's been working under for the past 17 years. After a planned operation that gets screwed up and makes him the scapegoat of the whole mess, he i

Courtesy of Universal Look over there, Bruce! It's your career, falling with "Mercury Rising."

s demoted to the more menial tasks of criminal investigation.

To add to his troubles, he feels very alone, and wants to care for someone, the upstanding moral citizen that he is. Just his luck: He is placed on a case that involves an autistic boy whose parents are mysteriously murdered, leaving the child alone.

Simon's (Miko Hughes) unfortunate predicament stems from his ingenuity. He is an autistic savant, and while dabbling with some puzzles, cracks the most sophisticated coding system ever invented. When he calls the decoded phone number, the trouble begins, placing National Security Agency head Lt. Col. Nicholas Kudrow (Baldwin) hot on the boy's trail.

Coming to the conclusion that the FBI will not be able to adequately protect the boy, Art hauls him from home to home, sometimes sleeping in the car, but forever running away from the bad guys. This definitely gets a little tedious, as Willis predictably wins every battle, but of course, just barely.

Good thing he's got Tommy (Chi McBride), his true friend and alibi who is eventually convinced by Art that he isn't having delusional, "paranoid conspiracy" theories, that Simon is truly in deep trouble. McBride's role is flat just like the rest of the dull, predictable characters.

But there is one fine moment worth note. A face-off between Art and Kudrow in the basement cellar adds some humor to an otherwise dry film.

Willis makes Baldwin look like a complete fool when he smashes expensive wine bottles left and right, and the witty dialogue between them is relatively funny.

Miko Hughes also turns in a fairly impressive acting job as an autistic child. At times, however, he sounds like a cross between Frankenstein's monster and Carol Ann from "Poltergeist."

An amusing aspect of "Mercury Rising" that isn't intended to produce chuckles is the computer shuffling sound that we hear when Simon is trying to decipher the Mercury code. The noise makes Simon out to be an inhuman, quasi-supernatural being, and therefore cheapens the integrity of the film.

After visually laboring through such plots devoid of any substance or creativity, such as that in "Mercury Rising," we can appreciate those movies that really make an effort to produce something unique and entertaining.

04-08-98