Freejack

Freejack
Directed by	Geoff Murphy
Produced by	Ronald Shusett Stuart Oken
Screenplay by	Steven Pressfield Ronald Shusett Dan Gilroy
Story by	Steven Pressfield Ronald Shusett
Based on	Immortality, Inc. by Robert Sheckley
Starring	Emilio Estevez Mick Jagger Rene Russo Anthony Hopkins Jonathan Banks David Johansen
Music by	Trevor Jones
Cinematography	Amir Mokri (uncredited)
Edited by	Dennis Virkler
Production company	Morgan Creek
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	January 17, 1992 (1992-01-17)
Running time	110 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$30 million (estimated)[1]
Box office	$17,129,000 (USA)

Freejack is a 1992 science fiction action film directed by Geoff Murphy, starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins. Upon its release in the United States, the film received mostly negative reviews. The story was adapted from Immortality, Inc., a 1959 novel by Robert Sheckley. Aside from the most basic elements – the journey of a modern man into a future where everything is for sale, and the presence of a "spiritual switchboard" in which souls are suspended – the cyberpunk plot bears little resemblance in tone or content to Sheckley's story, where discovery of scientific proof of the afterlife altered society's views of the sanctity of life.

Plot

By the year 2009, the civilization has nearly collapsed from a series of ecological disasters. Governments are now controlled by mega-corporations and their super-wealthy executives. These people can gain immortality by hiring so-called "bonejackers" - i.e., mercenaries who use time travel technology to snatch people from the past, just prior to their deaths. Their bodies are then taken over by the rich to extend their lives. Those who escape bonejacking, known as "freejacks," are considered less than human under the law. In this dystopic future, most people suffer from poor physical health as a result of rampant drug use and environmental pollution, making them unattractive as replacement bodies.

In 1991, professional Formula One racer Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez) is about to die in a spectacular crash witnessed by his fiancé Julie Redlund (Rene Russo) and agent Brad Simmons (David Johansen). Just as the crash occurs, bonejackers from 2009 use a time displacement device to snatch him from the car and into a 21st-century laboratory. When Furlong's captors - led by mercenary Victor Vacendak (Mick Jagger) - are ambushed by a hit squad, Furlong escapes into the unfamiliar streets of a dystopian, post-disaster Manhattan. Having no idea what happened, he tries to find Julie, but she no longer lives at her 1991 address. He takes shelter at an old church, where a sympathetic (and well-armed) nun (Amanda Plummer) explains what has happened to him. She also provides him with clothing, food, and a pistol and sends him on his way.

Furlong finds Brad, but Brad immediately sells him out to Vacendak, getting killed in the process. He then finds Julie at her new apartment, but she calls security, believing him to be "the bastard who stole [Furlong's] body." When Vacendak and his men shows up, she realizes that Furlong is actually her Furlong. She goes to her boss Ian McCandless (Anthony Hopkins), president of McCandless Corp., to try and help Furlong escape the city. McCandless promises that he will help secure Alex's escape. However, it is a trap — and Vacendak and his men try again to capture Furlong, but he manages to fight off the mercenaries and hold Vacendak at gunpoint. Furlong demands that he be told who wants his body; Vacendak finally tells him that McCandless himself wants it. Because Furlong saved his life earlier, Vacendak gives him a chance to escape and Julie steals an armored vehicle used by the mercenaries.

Furlong and Julie manage to evade the mercenaries and McCandless' personal police force. But they find they also have to deal with the private guards of McCandless' corporate executive officer Mark Michelette (Jonathan Banks), who desperately wants McCandless' job. His men were the one's responsible for the ambush that let Furlong escape in the first place. Furlong pretends to take Julie hostage and negotiates with Michelette. Furlong hopes they don't know about his past relationship with Julie. But, it turns out that Michelette saw footage of Julie's grief after the 1991 accident. He immediately fires Julie on the spot. Furlong and Julie escape the meeting, hoping to flee through the lobby, but they are thwarted by a gunfight between the security guards and mercenaries.

Their elevator takes them to the penthouse, where McCandless' mind is stored. A hologram of McCandless explains why he wants Furlong's body — so he could show his love for Julie. Apologizing, he offers to let Furlong run the company while pretending to be McCandless. Just then Vacendak arrives and McCandless reveals he was only stalling for time. Furlong, forced into the transfer machine, protests "You don't need a new body, you need a new soul, and your machine can't give you that!" Just as the transfer process begins, Michelette stumbles in, wounded from fighting Vacendak's soldiers. In the confusion, Julie grabs a soldier's pistol and shoots the processing crystal used by the transfer computers. The transfer results are deemed inconclusive since no one knows if McCandless controls Furlong's body. McCandless' scientists cannot tell and conclude that McCandless will have to identify himself. Michelette agrees, revealing that only McCandless will know his own personal I.D. code — a code that Alex wouldn't know. Vacendak receives a handheld computer which displays McCandless' code. He instructs "Furlong" to tell him what it is.

Alex responds by saying the code slowly, and Vacendak asks him to continue. Michelette concludes that the transfer was completed and tries to kill Furlong, but is gunned down by Vacendak and his men. Furlong remarks about how well he feels in his "new" body, before ordering Julie to dress more appropriately.

Sometime later, Furlong and Julie go for a drive. Vacendak stops them as the car leaves the estate. It turns out that the transfer was not complete after all; Furlong got McCandless' secret number wrong, though Vacendak went along with it. He simply waited until Furlong made a mistake: McCandless did not know how to drive. Vacendak admonishes Julie that "you'll have to coach him better than that", then leaves while Furlong and Julie speed away.

Cast

Production

The role of Julie Redlund was originally going to be played by Linda Fiorentino, but due to scheduling conflicts, she dropped out and Rene Russo signed on to replace her.

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics and currently holds a 15% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews.^[2][3][4][5]

Home video releases

Freejack was released on VHS in 1992,^[6] with a DVD release following in 2002.^[7]

References

External links

• Official site of Robert Sheckley
• Freejack at the Internet Movie Database
• Freejack at Rotten Tomatoes