Mercury Rising

The premise of Mercury Rising is a unique one to say the least.
A top-secret United States government code called Mercury - which happens to be uncrackable by any computer on the planet - is hidden inside a common puzzle book. It remains hidden for some time until a nine year old autistic boy named Simon Lynch (Miko Hughes) cracks it - sending the NSA into damage control.
We are introduced to Special Agent Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis) as one of a group of bank robbers in the middle of a heist. He's protecting an 11 year old named James, who was dragged into the situation by bank robber Edgar. Jeffries begs his superiors for more time to resolve the situation, but just as he finds a peaceful solution, the FBI task force storms the building and kills both Edgar and James.
Lt Colonel Nick Kudrow (Alec Baldwin) despatches assassins to eliminate Simon and his parents, who he sees as a grave liability to security.
The assassin (Peter Burrell, played by Lindsey Lee Ginter) gets two thirds of his job done, but leaves the house before eliminating Simon due to approaching sirens. Jeffries is sent to investigate what is believed to be a murder-suicide at the Lynch premises, but finds Simon hiding in a closet.
Jeffries and Simon grow closer together as the film progresses, and they are joined by a woman named Staceey Siebring (Kim Dickens) at a coffee shop. All the while Jeffries gets help from fellow agent Tommy Jordan (Chi McBride), who knows Jeffries is not guilty of an assumed crime (the warrant of which was sent out by Kudrow).
It is an interesting film with a predictable end, and it follows a somewhat predictable path. The fact Simon is autistic gives the plot another branch to explore, as Jeffries encounters several problems associated with the condition along the way (need for routine for example). One thing I didn't understand was the need for Simon to walk around with his eyes looking up to the sky or an angle the whole time. Whether I don't know enough about autism to comment, that was the belief at the time, or it was just a way for the director to show he "was not normal" I'm not sure. It didn't seem right though.
In terms of the rest of it, it's pretty much what I expect a normal Bruce Willis film to be like. He gets to kill some bad guys but be the most human and he'll almost certainly knock off his one of the major villains, while the other villain perishes in spectacular fashion. Classic Willis.

Mercury Rising: 111 minutes (1998)