the movie is not 'that' bad, after all. it's got the 'cyberpunk' feeling to it; the atmosphere; it's Neuromancer meets "the bridge". but maybe that's the problem. maybe the two were never supposed to meet. not until All Tomorrow's Parties, at least. and that was a different party...

maybe the problem is that there were just too many Johnnys. the one in Gibson's screenplay is already a dangerous melange between Johnny and Case. add to this Keanu's own take on the character. cover with heavy layers of studio executives' and /or producers' ideas about what makes a movie marketable. shake well, stir and add ice.
well, that's what ended up on the screen.
I don't know whose idea it was to 'redeem' the character, but it somehow doesn't fit.

I still wish there were somewhere a few rolls of film, imprinted with Longo's black-and-white Alphaville-esque version of this movie...