"'Chain Reaction' involves a revolutionary new energy-producing
process and if I thought you morons had any chance of understanding the
science behind it I'd explain. But I won't. Why? Because people who read
film reviews are idiots, which makes you an idiot. Have a nice day."
That's how this review would read if I wrote reviews
the same way that director Andrew Davis makes movies.
"Chain Reaction" is
another one of those "get the disk" genre movies. Everybody runs around
screaming "Get the disk!" in an attempt to create an air of suspense -- despite the fact that we have no idea what the disk contains. As far as we know, the damn
thing is filled with Cheese Whiz recipes.
As if they weren't busy enough getting the disk, machinist Eddie (Keanu Reeves) and his "I'd be in your pants in
a second if these bad guys weren't after us" physicist pal, Lilly (Rachel
Wiesz), also have to figure out who killed their mentor and destroyed a
revolutionary new process that could provide free energy to the entire
world.
The generic dialogue, obviously lifted from some children's book on
how to write action movies, is well-suited to the implausible plot. "Chain Reaction" has more nifty coincidences
than an identical twins convention. In additiion to the various things that are timed to fall just as the bad guys run under them, this film also throws in the all-too-familiar raising drawbridge scene. Our hero is running all over the
city, but just happens to come to the drawbridge as it begins to open. Too bad it couldn't have closed on Andrew Davis.