Freejack
Encyclopedia
Freejack is a 1992
science fiction film
directed by Geoff Murphy
, starring Emilio Estevez
, Mick Jagger
, Rene Russo
, Jonathan Banks
, Grand L. Bush
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.
who utilize extensive time travel
technology, to snatch people from the past just prior to their deaths, so their bodies could be used by the rich to extend their lives. Those who escape the bonejacking, are known as "freejacks," and are considered less than human under the law. The film is set in a dystopic
future where most people suffer from poor physical health as a result of rampant drug use and environmental pollution, making them unattractive as replacement bodies.
Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez
) is a professional race-car driver who is just about to die in a spectacular 1991 crash, right in front of his fiancée Julie Redlund (Rene Russo
) and his agent Brad (David Johansen
), when a time machine snatches him from the cockpit and into the 21st century Bronx, a wasteland. When Furlong's captors - led by hardened but honorable mercenary Victor Vacendak (Mick Jagger
)- are ambushed by a hit squad, Furlong is able to escape. He has no idea what is going on, so he tries to find Julie, but she is no longer at her 1991 address. He takes shelter at a 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 handgun.
Alex goes to his former agent Brad for help, but Brad sells him out, being killed in the process. He then goes to Julie, but she calls security on him, believing him to be "the bastard who stole [Alex's] body." When Vacendak shows up, she realizes that Alex actually was Alex. She goes to Ian McCandless,(Anthony Hopkins
) himself in an opportunity to help Alex escape the city, McCandless promises her that he will help by securing Alex's escape. However, the escape plan is a trap- Vacendak and his men try once again to take possession of Alex, but he manages to defeat the mercenaries and holds Vacendak at gunpoint. Alex demands that he be told who wants his body; Vacendak finally relents and tells him that the person who wants Alex's body is none other than McCandless himself. Because Alex saved his life earlier, Vacendak gives him a chance to run, and Julie secures one of the armored vehicles used by the bonejackers.
Furlong and Julie manage to evade Vacendak's security guards and the McCandless Corporation police force, but they also have to deal the private guards of McCandless' corporate X.O., Mr. Michelette, who is after McCandless' job: he was the one responsible for the ambush that caused Alex to get loose in the first place.
Alex then pretends to take Julie hostage and negotiates with Michelette to arrange a meeting with him. He hopes they don't know about the couple's past relationship.However, it turns out that Michelette has already seen the footage of Julie's grief after Alex's 1991 accident. He fires Julie on the spot, securing his position as top executive. Alex and Julie escape the meeting, hoping to flee to the lobby, but they are thwarted by a gunfight between the security guards and mercenaries.
The elevator they're in takes them to the very top floor where McCandless' mind is stored. A virtual reality
hologram of McCandless explains why he wants Furlong's body - so he could show his love for Julie. Apologizing, he offers to let Alex run the company while pretending to be McCandless but, as Vacendak arrives, McCandless reveals he was only stalling for time. Alex, 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, Michellette stumbles in, wounded from fighting Vacendak's soldiers. In the confusion, Julie grabs a soldier's gun and shoots the processing crystal used by the transfer computers. The transfer results are deemed inconclusive since no one can tell if McCandless has control of Furlong's body. McCandless' scientists cannot determine the answer, and conclude that McCandless will have to identify himself. Michellette 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 "Alex" 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 Alex, 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.
A little while later, Furlong and Julie take one of McCandless' cars for a drive. Vacendak and his team stop 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 withdraws his forces, and Alex and Julie speed away.
in 1992, with a DVD release following in 2002.
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
directed by Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy is a successful New Zealand filmmaker best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the last half of the 1970s....
, starring Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
, Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, Rene Russo
Rene Russo
- Early life :Russo was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Shirley , a factory worker and barmaid, and Nino Russo, a sculptor and car mechanic who left the family when Rene was two. Her father and maternal grandfather were of Italian descent. Russo grew up with her sister, Toni, and their...
, Jonathan Banks
Jonathan Banks
Jonathan Ray Banks is an American actor in film and television.Banks was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947. His mother worked for the CIA. Banks attended Indiana University Bloomington where he was a classmate of Kevin Kline...
, Grand L. Bush
Grand L. Bush
Grand Lee Bush is an American actor of stage, television and major motion pictures.-Personal life:Bush was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Essie and Robert Bush, who was an actor...
and Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
. Upon its release in the United States, the film received mostly negative reviews. The story was adapted from Immortality, Inc.
Immortality, Inc.
Immortality, Inc. is a 1959 science fiction novella by American writer Robert Sheckley, about a fictional process whereby a human's consciousness may be transferred into a brain-dead body. A striking foreshadowing in the novel is its description of random killings of strangers by people who intend...
, a 1959
1959 in literature
The year 1959 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April 30 - Theatrical première of Bertolt Brecht's Saint Joan of the Stockyards, originally performed on radio in 1932....
novel by Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley
Robert Sheckley was a Hugo- and Nebula-nominated American author. First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical.Sheckley was named Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and...
. 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
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
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
In the year 2009, the super-wealthy achieve immortality by hiring "bonejackers," mercenariesMercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
who utilize extensive time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
technology, to snatch people from the past just prior to their deaths, so their bodies could be used by the rich to extend their lives. Those who escape the bonejacking, are known as "freejacks," and are considered less than human under the law. The film is set in a dystopic
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
future where most people suffer from poor physical health as a result of rampant drug use and environmental pollution, making them unattractive as replacement bodies.
Alex Furlong (Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
) is a professional race-car driver who is just about to die in a spectacular 1991 crash, right in front of his fiancée Julie Redlund (Rene Russo
Rene Russo
- Early life :Russo was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Shirley , a factory worker and barmaid, and Nino Russo, a sculptor and car mechanic who left the family when Rene was two. Her father and maternal grandfather were of Italian descent. Russo grew up with her sister, Toni, and their...
) and his agent Brad (David Johansen
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in...
), when a time machine snatches him from the cockpit and into the 21st century Bronx, a wasteland. When Furlong's captors - led by hardened but honorable mercenary Victor Vacendak (Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
)- are ambushed by a hit squad, Furlong is able to escape. He has no idea what is going on, so he tries to find Julie, but she is no longer at her 1991 address. He takes shelter at a 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 handgun.
Alex goes to his former agent Brad for help, but Brad sells him out, being killed in the process. He then goes to Julie, but she calls security on him, believing him to be "the bastard who stole [Alex's] body." When Vacendak shows up, she realizes that Alex actually was Alex. She goes to Ian McCandless,(Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
) himself in an opportunity to help Alex escape the city, McCandless promises her that he will help by securing Alex's escape. However, the escape plan is a trap- Vacendak and his men try once again to take possession of Alex, but he manages to defeat the mercenaries and holds Vacendak at gunpoint. Alex demands that he be told who wants his body; Vacendak finally relents and tells him that the person who wants Alex's body is none other than McCandless himself. Because Alex saved his life earlier, Vacendak gives him a chance to run, and Julie secures one of the armored vehicles used by the bonejackers.
Furlong and Julie manage to evade Vacendak's security guards and the McCandless Corporation police force, but they also have to deal the private guards of McCandless' corporate X.O., Mr. Michelette, who is after McCandless' job: he was the one responsible for the ambush that caused Alex to get loose in the first place.
Alex then pretends to take Julie hostage and negotiates with Michelette to arrange a meeting with him. He hopes they don't know about the couple's past relationship.However, it turns out that Michelette has already seen the footage of Julie's grief after Alex's 1991 accident. He fires Julie on the spot, securing his position as top executive. Alex and Julie escape the meeting, hoping to flee to the lobby, but they are thwarted by a gunfight between the security guards and mercenaries.
The elevator they're in takes them to the very top floor where McCandless' mind is stored. A virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
hologram of McCandless explains why he wants Furlong's body - so he could show his love for Julie. Apologizing, he offers to let Alex run the company while pretending to be McCandless but, as Vacendak arrives, McCandless reveals he was only stalling for time. Alex, 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, Michellette stumbles in, wounded from fighting Vacendak's soldiers. In the confusion, Julie grabs a soldier's gun and shoots the processing crystal used by the transfer computers. The transfer results are deemed inconclusive since no one can tell if McCandless has control of Furlong's body. McCandless' scientists cannot determine the answer, and conclude that McCandless will have to identify himself. Michellette 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 "Alex" 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 Alex, 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.
A little while later, Furlong and Julie take one of McCandless' cars for a drive. Vacendak and his team stop 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 withdraws his forces, and Alex and Julie speed away.
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Emilio Estevez Emilio Estevez Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire... |
Alex Furlong |
| Mick Jagger Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones.... |
Victor Vacendak |
| Rene Russo Rene Russo - Early life :Russo was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Shirley , a factory worker and barmaid, and Nino Russo, a sculptor and car mechanic who left the family when Rene was two. Her father and maternal grandfather were of Italian descent. Russo grew up with her sister, Toni, and their... |
Julie Redlund |
| Anthony Hopkins Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television... |
Ian McCandless |
| Jonathan Banks Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks is an American actor in film and television.Banks was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947. His mother worked for the CIA. Banks attended Indiana University Bloomington where he was a classmate of Kevin Kline... |
Mark Michelette |
| David Johansen David Johansen David Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in... |
Brad |
| Grand L. Bush Grand L. Bush Grand Lee Bush is an American actor of stage, television and major motion pictures.-Personal life:Bush was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Essie and Robert Bush, who was an actor... |
Boone |
| John Shea John Shea John Victor Shea III is an American actor and director who has starred on stage, television and in film. He is best known for his role as Lex Luthor in the 1990s TV series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and also starred in the short lived 1990s TV series WIOU as Hank Zaret... |
Morgan |
| Frankie Faison Frankie Faison Frankie Russel Faison , often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor.-Personal life:Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity... |
Homeless man |
| Esai Morales Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Bob Morales in the 1987 biopic La Bamba. He also appeared in the PBS drama American Family and in the Showtime series Resurrection Blvd.. However, he is best known for his roles as Lt... |
Ripper |
| Jerry Hall Jerry Hall Jerry Faye Hall is an American model and actress, also known for her long-term relationship with Mick Jagger, with whom she had four children.-Early life:... |
Newswoman |
| Amanda Plummer | Nun |
Home video releases
Freejack was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in 1992, with a DVD release following in 2002.