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
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