©2006 William Ahearn

“Free Jack” is a riff on an idea introduced by the Disney flick “Tron” (1982). In “Tron,” a programmer is sucked up a computer and forced to fight for his life among its inner workings. In “Free Jack” (and several subsequent films), a person’s mind can be transferred to a computer and then downloaded into a different body.

It’s the future in New York City and a dying industrialist (Anthony Hopkins) has his mind stored in a computer while the bone-jackers (the leader of which is played by Mick Jagger) go back in time to snatch the body of a racecar driver (Emilio Estevez) moments before his car smashes into an overpass in what seems to be a fatal accident.

But the racecar driver survives the snatch and gets away and soon realizes that it’s almost 20 years later than he thinks it is. (This time lapse sure doesn’t show on his now successful ex-girlfriend (Rene Russo)). Lots of car chases and shootings later – and a role for ex-New York Dolls rocker David Johansson – it all ends with the usual computer graphics and silly love story ending.

A bad idea is a terrible thing to waste and transferring the mind into a computer will show up several more times.