One of my all time favorites.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The movie has a great story line with no excessive action unlike modern movies!! A good watch and must see.

I don't understand why this film has such a low rating, is it the plot or acting? To me, both were good and did exactly what it set out to achieve. Does this film scream top movie of all time? Definitely not but it's an easy to watch film with great acting from Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin and the main child. I've seen much worse acting from other children his age and he played his part well. All of the supporting cast also did a good job and none of them were miscast in their roles. I've probably seen this film more than 50 times since it's release, just as entertaining as the first time I watched it. Won't leave any spoilers here but all I'll say is, if you haven't given this film a go by now and want a film to relax to, this film is great to pass the time. 9/10

A nine-year-old autistic boy solves a complex encryption code called "Mercury". That sets off a chain of secretive and seedy events to cover up that discovery.The premise of the movie was awesome but its approach and execution was comical. What's the surest way to keep secret the fact that a multi-billion dollar program was undermined by a nine-year-old autistic boy? Kill him of course. That's where the movie went "left"--to use the words of rap mogul and world class buffoon, Birdman.This movie was a wave of rampant executions in order to keep an expensive program alive. One-by-one people ended up dead even if they had the remotest affiliation with "Mercury" and their deaths weren't particularly imaginative or covered up. I really think the writers lacked creativity. This movie could've been so much better had the powers-that-be gone about everything differently-- meaning intelligently. But such is Hollywood most times, they prefer style over substance.

I really enjoyed this film and have found it equally watchable on repeated viewings.From the opening scene of a helicopter making its way towards a rural town accompanied by Barry's soulful music you just know that you are in for a rewarding movie experience.What elevates a routine and slightly clichéd thriller into a tense and emotionally satisfying film is the sensitive direction of Harold Becker, spot on casting, a story with emotional depth and John Barrys great score.Bruce Willis is ideally cast as the loner working against the system. The interaction between him and Miko Hughes as the autistic child Simon feels authentic. There is real chemistry in the exchanges between the 3 computer nerds who work for the NSA. And the scenes between Simon and his parents carry real emotional weight.This is not an action film. It is a film about story and character, and in some ways that makes it an old fashioned movie and all the better for it. It does, however, maintain tension through most of it's running time, a characteristic which is becoming rarer in modern films.Definitely recommended.