COLUMBIA TRISTAR has elected to release "JOHNNY MNEMONIC" as part of their
"SUPERBITS" line. Keanu Reeves stars as an advanced courier in this sci-fi
action film. In the future, instead of "Fed-ex", humans have information
downloaded into their brain, until they reach their destination where it's
downloaded.

Johnny gets into trouble when customers of his are killed for the
information he has. Making matters worse, if the hard-drive of information
in him isn't downloaded soon, his brain will "crash". In spite of some
decent stunt sequences, this is an action film without any thrills.
Everything is predictable, and it comes off like a low budget made-for-cable
tv movie. The supporting cast is also mediocre, spouting off lines that
even a great cast would have trouble with.

In comparison to the previous release of the film, the new "SUPERBITS"
edition offers a much sharper picture. There's substantially less grain,
and the contrast is greatly improved, offering much deeper blacks in grays
in dark sequences, of which there are many. The colors are more solid as
well and there's more definition in most scenes.

This new release offers the same Dolby Digital 5.1 mix found on the other
version, but with the added feature of DTS 5.1 as well. Unfortunately, the
sound mix is typically unremarkable. While there are some surround effects,
most of the directional effects are limited to the front soundstage with
little creative flair. The musical score is decent and while it adds to the
atmosphere in spots, it's not memorable. The DTS mix offers slightly more
distinct bass and clarity in regards to the surround effects, but these
moments are so rare, it's not a huge advantage. This is a film for die-hard
fans of the film only.