Mercury Rising (1998)

Mercury Rising is The Witness meets The Bourne Identity (or Enemy of the State). It's a typical Bruce Willis action flick with sinister government baddies (led by the coldblooded Alec Baldwin) intent on eliminating an autistic savant (and anyone connected to him) who knows something they don't want anyone to know. It's the ultimate "If we told you, we would have to kill you" (or "We're from the government, we're here to help you meet your maker") movie except in this case the autistic child figured it out on his own and only Bruce Willis stands between him and a bullet. Bruce does a lot of running interference and thinking on his feet, copping a bit of his usual attitude though the script doesn't let him really own his performance as in 12 Monkeys or the Die Hard movies. Miko Hughes as the autistic boy is quite good (though he's not Natalie Portman in The Professional). Yes, the plot has a few Swiss-cheese holes. No, the adults' interaction with the autistic child isn't always realistic (though it's always sensitive). Well, that's because this is an action movie and the plot has to race along; deal with it. I like this movie a lot and I plan to watch it again. 4 stars.