Chill Factor (1999)

Touches You

A Disappointing Continuation

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Two mis-matched men are forced to team up with each other when they get possession of a top-secret weapon that, if heated over 50 F, detonates and releases a lethal cloud of radioactivity in a 200 mile radiusFormer soldiers want to use this against the government after making them scapegoats years earlier for their handling of the virus and covering up the existence of the weapon. With time running out, and the temperature rising, the two must outwit their pursuers and try to find a way to dispose of the weapon before they both vaporise.....Chill Factor is nothing more than a Speed knock off, but hey, if the ice melts, it's big bang time, and only Oscar winner Gooding JR., and Billy Loomis can save the day.And one wonders how they ever do, as they are the most incompetent duo since Abbott And Costello graced our screen. They are chased by Peter Firth, some muscle-heads, and the token short haired tough girl, who was in these films for the girlpower.It's a really stupid concept, and the fact that the film cost $70 million, and only made $11 million, begs the question, is in the so bad, it's good territory.Not quite, but it's just one of those films where the two leads scream at each other through the course of the film, instantly become wonderful stuntmen and fighters, and evade attacks so many times from trained professionals.But one thing, this film would make a great drinking game, every time Gooding JR. utters the the profane word 'S***' take a drink, because i'm sure you'll be drunk within an hour.He utters it that many times, it takes you away from any action that is happening at that time.I'm just surprised that they didn't name the two lead characters Ben & Jerry....

Chill Factor (1999): Dir: Hugh Johnson / Cast: Skeet Ulrich, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Paymer, Peter Firth, Kevin J. O'Connor: Stupid action premise that winds down to clichés, stereotypes and total idiocy. Title represents a device that needs to be kept cold but it can also refer to the situation itself. An experiment goes wrong (much like the film) that costs the lives of soldiers. David Paymer plays the doctor in charge who regrets it. Peter Firth plays the commander who took the fall and plots revenge. The rest is a dumb road trip with Skeet Ulrich and ice cream truck driver Cuba Gooding Jr. Hugh Johnson directs as if this is a Looney Tunes cartoon. Ulrich plays a deli worker whom is the only one Paymer can trust on the verge of death, but the role has him either fleeing by vehicle or on foot. Gooding Jr. brings comic relief but the role is total cardboard. Paymer does well but his role requires him to regret, guilt and then die within fifteen minutes, which renders the role a prop. Firth cannot raise the commander above embarrassment. He murders the Paymer character then spends the remainder of the film trying to do the same to Ulrich and Gooding Jr. He also yells threats a lot but that may be the attitude coming from working on this film. Kevin J. O'Connor also makes an appearance in what will become standard for him and action films. Mindless action junk that should be buried in the Arctic. Score: 1 / 10

In spite of several clichés and improbable scenes, the movie was not boring or annoying to watch - thanks to Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Arlo, Peter Firth as Andrew Brynner, and David Paymer as Dr. Richard Long, above all (Skeet Ulrich as Tim Mason was uninviting to me). Perhaps not worth for a cinema visit, but rather good in front of TV screen with a (male) company - and I find it better than most of movies with Norris, Seagal or Dudikoff. Chill Factor is a mediocre A-movie, but outperforms most of good B-movies; that is why I find that the viewers have been too harsh and critical towards it. Fortunately or unfortunately, film-makers like Tarantino, Schumacher, The Coen Brothers, Scott etc have no monopoly on making action movies.

I came across this film one night and let me tell you it is a cracker of a movie. Cuba Gooding Jr,an ice cream delivery driver,and Skeet Ulrich,an employee at a diner, are transporting a secret chemical weapon,named Elvis,that if exceeding the temperature of 50 degrees will detonate killing 3 million Americans and annihilating everything for miles around. They are pursued by terrorist Peter Firth, who wants to sell the weapon to the highest bidder, and his female cronie Hudson Leick. This is a film that keeps upping the tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Cuba Gooding Jr and Skeet Ulrich are perfect as 2 unlikely heroes who at first don't get on but have to work together and in so doing become friends. Peter Firth plays a really nasty piece of work but his co-star Hudson Leick steals every scene with her portrayal of a female assassin who has no scruples what so ever. If you ever get the chance to watch this film then take up the offer because you will be seeing a small movie that is a little gem. By the end of this film you will have no nails left to chew. 8 out of 10.