Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Crappy film

The first must-see film of the year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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.

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

Another good Keanu Reeves(as a machinist) thriller, and I must say the starcast is sexy! There's Rachel Weisz(a fellow scientist), Morgan Freeman(funds a secret science project), Brian Cox(as chairman of a secret research facility) and also Fred Ward(as FBI agent).I actually thought Chain Reaction would be a sci-fi thriller, but the sci-fi part isn't really there. We've only the beginning and the ending scene where some hydrogen reaction is shown. Rest of the movie is all about catch Keanu if you can! Rachel & he flees the cops, the FBI and some operatives intend on killing them while they try to expose the murky truth.Keanu, Rachel, Morgan and even Brian Cox are good. Also very good special effects, especially the massive explosion in the beginning which paves the way for the excitement that follows.Some of the disappointments included the ending bits. Keanu seems to easily find his way to a secret, heavily-guarded research facility, to not only rescue Rachel Weisz but also bring the entire kilometres-long facility crashing down to earth! That wasn't convincing. And also Rachel had a really weak role, as compared to Keanu or Morgan. Maybe that was the beginning phase of her career.Of course, it also bewilders me that Keanu also easily finds answers to fix the chemical reactions or even set it to explode if our bad guys don't turn back! I think I risk disliking the movie if I ask too many questions :p Verdict: Just leave your questions unanswered. You could like the movie & the suspense that way :-)

This movie centers on the heroes being chased all over the map having been framed for murder and treason. They make all sorts of clever attempts to evade their pursuers. However, neither of them does one thing to change their appearance -- they don't cut their hair, they don't color it, and the Keanu Reeves character doesn't shave his beard. And the escape from certain death at the end is way beyond belief!I'm willing to suspend a little disbelief but am I supposed to think this is even remotely realistic? Naturally this plot contained twists and turns and bad guys who looked at first like good guys. But I found myself anticipating virtually all of it. There were few surprises except how transparent the story was.Sadly, I can't help wondering how so many good actors got involved with this lousy movie although we see that often in Hollywood.