It's the year 2021, and the whole world is suffering from the Nerve Attenuation Syndrome (NAS). Johnny Mnemonic (Keanu Reeves) has an implanted memory chip, and much of his memory erased to create space to store computer data. He's been hired to transport important data while trying to escape from the Yakuza. On his journey, he's helped by bio-engineered muscle Jane (Dina Meyer), and anti-government group led by J-Bone (Ice-T).

The similarities to The Matrix is astounding. I'm not saying there's any copying, but I'm sure the Wachowski brothers had a lot of this in mind when they cast Keanu Reeves. He's basically playing the same cool emotionless hero. There are guys in black trench coats. They're dealing a lot of issues with computers. There is a lot of Asian motif. In the end, they are not really the same. I like to call this the trial run for the Matrix. You can see some of the problems. The budget isn't big enough. The real effects are too clunky. The computer FX and graphics would vastly improve in the Matrix. Overall there are all kinds of ideas in this movie that a real world setting just won't do it justice. The story is simple enough. It's a quest and a road story. There are good guys and bad guys. What this movie really need is a better visual effects department.