When Simon Lynch a nine year old autistic boy cracks a top secret code by doing a word search puzzle book, his life and his family are instantly put in danger when they are targeted by the NSA.
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Art Jeffries was an undercover FBI agent who is unsuccessful during his assignment when a bank robbery goes very wrong and with his cover blown he is put on desk duty, something that he cannot really cope with as he is used to being out on the streets. It wouldn't take long though before he was involved very deeply in a new unfolding case.
When Simon is given the puzzle book by his teacher and takes it home that day and begins working through the pages. A code called "Mercury Rising" was developed by the National Security Agency and was placed in the puzzle book, it was created by Dean Crandell and Leo Pedranski and it was thought that no computer would even be able to decipher it. They are shocked when young Simon not only cracks the code just by looking at it but then calls the number they placed within it!
They have to inform there boss of the situation and that starts a series of events with Simon's parents being murdered and he managed to hide in the house. His form of autism is on the extreme end of the spectrum which meant he couldn't actually talk and communicate properly. Being taken out of his routine and moved around with Jeffries caused a lot of distress. He vows to keep the boy safe until why can work out just why he is being targeted.
The film has a decent amount of action scenes mixed with a rather interesting plot, I mean a code that was supposed to be top secret placed within a word search and cracked by a child is certainly something that you can get interested in. The autism brings out a very impressive performance from Miko Hughes, that cannot be denied. It is also worth remembering that it has many different levels and types across the spectrum, as I had read a few negative reviews around how that is shown on screen. But I personally thought it was good to highlight how extreme it can be.
Bruce Willis as a cop isn't really much of a stretch is it? Let's face it though it works out pretty well for him and in this he is given a couple of emotional scenes. Alec Baldwin as a bad guy you can easily get on board with that's for sure! I have watched this film a couple of times before and it is decent enough for this genre.