In the near future, Michael Jennings makes a living as a reverse engineer, taking apart rival companies' technology and building improved versions. To protect his clients' secrets, he agrees to undergo memory wipes that erase his work. When his old college roommate James Rethrick, the head of the tech firm Allcom, offers him a three-year contract paid in company stock, Jennings accepts. Upon waking, he finds his fortune has vanished, is hunted by both the FBI and Rethrick's men, and discovers an envelope full of seemingly useless objects.

How it was made

The film is based on Philip K. Dick's short story The Golden Man... more precisely, its source is the 1953 story of the same name by Dick, adapted by screenwriter Dean Georgaris. John Woo, an admirer of Dick, directed, and Ben Affleck signed on largely for the chance to work with him and for the strength of the script. Aaron Eckhart, Uma Thurman and Paul Giamatti complete the cast. Development began in 1996, when Caravan Pictures optioned the story; Brett Ratner and Kathryn Bigelow were considered before Woo, and Matt Damon turned down the lead. Woo included several of his trademarks, including two Mexican standoffs and a dove in a birdcage similar to the one in Hard Boiled.

Reception and legacy

On a budget of $60 million, the film grossed $117.2 million worldwide. Critics were largely unimpressed: it holds a 27% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and many reviewers felt Dick's premise was reduced to chases and shootouts, though a few praised it as an efficient thriller. Roger Ebert gave it two stars out of four. Woo later said the script never delivered the Hitchcockian suspense he had wanted. Ben Affleck won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor for the role, and the trophy he eventually accepted on live television was broken.