Chain Reaction (1996)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Considering that this film was directed by Andrew Davis who before this directed the hit film the Fugitive (1993), you would have thought he ought to put a lot of effort to making Chain Reaction to be just as great as the Fugitive. Unfortunately Chain Reaction just comes off as being a very plain mediocre film. When I originally first saw this film I had no clue what it was about but now since seeing it with a better perspective I now know what it's about, I suppose the story in this does work well but this film does have it's problems, I'm not saying this film is bad as it's watchable but it's very plain.The first problem in this film that comes to my mind is the music soundtrack, oh my gosh, talk about the wrong type of music for your film. Having the right music for your film is extremely important and the people that were behind the films musical design got it all completely wrong. In hindsight this is a chase film where the hero is wrongly accused of something he didn't do and is being chased by the police, but the scenes themselves are just "plain" and could have been better. I know I keep using the word plain but when I say this I don't mean it in a bad way, like I said the story does work well.Overall conclusion, it's a mediocre action film that's not bad but it's it's just...well...plain.

I remember seeing the trailer for this film way back in 96 at the cinema. It looked really quite cool and exciting, Reeves was flying high at the time and it boasted some snazzy CGI, talk about deceptive!The whole film seemed to be centred around one sequence. That sequence being the huge explosion that occurs near the start and wipes out a vast area of Chicago, nuclear in appearance. Now this was back in the days when CGI was still a newish weapon and big flashy destructive sequences like this were looked upon as impressive and breaking the barrier.Looking back it is a nice effect but of course its dated and the cracks are showing, but I'm not gonna moan about that. The problem is the rest of the film is really quite dull, visuals are dull, action is dull and the acting is even dull despite a very good cast line up. Reeves is his usual monotone self, Weisz is a complete drip and Freeman now looks pretty clichéd in his natty Malcolm X looking 90's suit and hat. It really does feel like they wanted to show off their CGI destruction sequence so they made an entire film around that one moment. A completely by the numbers action thriller (if you can call it that) that covers every aspect you'd expect from the fugitive chase movie book. Bland boring so very very predictable and the films title is one of those totally meaningless but cool sounding types that looks even cooler with a striking font.4/10

Action Director Andy Davis should stay away from Films that have very deep Sociological implications and Heartfelt Left-Wing Idealism and stick to Movies that are "only" Entertainment. Because the Theme here is just too important and is a matter of Life and Death for the Planet.There are timely and difficult Problems to be solved and here the "fact" that water can be used as a cheap and effective means of Energy is most likely, in the near future, exactly what will be discovered. Its not that complicated at its base. Hydrogen is two parts in the water and it is highly Fissionable and is clean when burned. So look for it coming soon, if they let it, but if the Greed and Control in History is any indication, don't sell your Oil Stocks. But here it is nothing more than the substantial backdrop to the Story and is drained of its Power and used almost as a McGuffin. There is also the disturbing and inevitable Truth that if a source of Free Energy is discovered, the Power Elite will suppress it and destroy anything or anybody who would stop them from keeping it for themselves. It is dangerous being Green.The Movie utilizes these two profound Truths, one undeniable (Suppression) and the other almost a certainty (Clean Free Energy), but the whole thing feels like it is running on Empty. But as an Action Movie it is pretty good and is Entertaining and a lot of fun. But that painful Back Story is just too sensitive to be relegated to just another forgettable Popcorn Romp.

Eddie Kasalivich is a student machinist working on a project at the University of Chicago to obtain energy from water, when he discovers the secret of a process by which low-cost energy can be obtained from burning hydrogen, leaving only water as a residue. (The exact science is not always clear, but this appears to be some sort of nuclear fusion). Someone, however, obviously wants to sabotage Eddie's discovery, and one of his colleagues is murdered and the laboratory is destroyed in a massive explosion. Eddie and another colleague, Dr. Lily Sinclair, are questioned by the police and the FBI, and quickly realise that someone is trying to frame them for both the murder and the explosion. They are forced to go on the run to try and clear their names and to expose the true culprits.It is not just the science upon which the film is based that is unclear; the plot too is often over-elaborate and difficult to fathom. We eventually learn that the real villains are agents of the Government and of Big Business, who are desperate to suppress Eddie's discovery because they fear that a new cheap, environmentally friendly source of energy would make oil obsolete, force all oil companies into bankruptcy and lead to economic depression and social chaos. In fact, capitalism is rather more adaptable than the screenwriters imagine; a new energy source of this nature, by dramatically reducing industry's energy costs, would more likely lead to an economic boom and huge profits for those companies who could exploit this lucrative new technology. Existing energy companies would probably be among them, just as many stagecoach owners made a fortune from the invention of the steam train by re-investing their money in railway shares. The only people with a vested interest in preventing such inventions reaching the market would be the governments of those countries which possess vast reservoirs of crude oil and very little else, but the film-makers doubtless thought that, in paranoid conspiracy-thrillers like this one, the United States Government makes a better villain than do foreign ones.Keanu Reeves's performance as Eddie is adequate but not outstanding. Rachel Weisz as Lily, in her first starring role in a Hollywood film, is rather muted, and gives little indication that she would later develop into a major talent. Probably the best acting comes from the generally reliable Morgan Freeman as Paul Shannon, Eddie's old mentor who may have a sinister agenda, but "Chain Reaction" is not one of the really great Freeman films like "Glory", "Unforgiven" or "The Shawshank Redemption".The film does have some better qualities. The director Andrew Davis has been praised by his visual sense, and "Chain Reaction" is visually very attractive. The action takes place in winter and there is some striking photography of a wintry, snow-bound Chicago, especially the scenes set in the grim industrial districts and around the astronomical observatory which plays an important part in the plot. The action sequences are exciting, fast-moving and well handled.Davis has a reputation for specialising in thrillers. His films tend to vary in quality, but he has at least one very good one to his credit, "The Fugitive", one of the best thrillers of the nineties. (That film also dealt with a man forced to go on the run after being falsely accused of a crime). "Chain Reaction" is not in the same class as "The Fugitive", but it is a watchable thriller with some points of interest. 6/10