Chain Reaction (film)

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Chain Reaction
Directed by	Andrew Davis
Produced by	Andrew Davis Arne Schmidt
Written by	Story: Arne Schmidt Rick Seaman Josh Friedman Screenplay: J.F. Lawton Michael Bortman
Starring	Keanu Reeves Morgan Freeman Rachel Weisz Fred Ward Kevin Dunn
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith Bruce Botnick
Editing by	Don Brochu Dov Hoenig Arthur Schmidt
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	United States: August 2, 1996 United Kingdom: September 6, 1996
Running time	106 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	USD$ 55,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	USD$ 60,209,334
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by certain rogue elements within the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this technology. Released on August 2nd, 1996, Chain Reaction was widely panned by critics yet still managed to become a small box office success worldwide.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Plot

Eddie Kasalivich is a machinist working with a team from the University of Chicago to create energy from bubble fusion. They have been trying for quite some time without success but Eddie, while working at home, discovers the secret to successfully using sonoluminescence to create stable bubble fusion. The next day in the lab, the machine is perfected by Eddie and everything appears to be working and stable. To celebrate, a party is thrown in the lab. That night after the party, Dr. Lily Sinclair tries to leave the lab but her car battery is dead. Eddie offers to take her home as she is obviously intoxicated, so they walk off in search of a taxi. Back in the lab, Dr. Alistair Barkley and Lu Chen are on their computers while a van is seen driving towards the lab. Chen hears a noise and goes to investigate, but is kidnapped by unknown assailants as Dr. Barkley also comes under attack.

Meanwhile, Lily and Eddie arrive at her house and after making sure she is okay, Eddie heads back to the lab to get his bike. As he arrives at the lab, he sees a suspicious van driving away and detects alarms coming from the lab. He runs inside to find Alistair with a plastic bag over his head, and Chen nowhere to be found. The hydrogen reactor is on and dangerously unstable so Eddie goes over to the computers to try to stabilize the reaction, but is locked out of the system. Realizing the reactor is going to blow, Eddie runs out, jumps on his bike and speeds away as a massive explosion destroys the lab and the surrounding streets. As rescue crews arrive, Eddie is questioned by the police and later the FBI about what happened at the lab. Upon returning with Lily to their homes, they soon come to suspect that they are being framed as fake evidence is planted in both of their houses.

They go on the run and head to an observatory belonging to Maggie McDermott, an old friend of Eddie's. After resting up, they contact Paul Shannon again but are almost caught in the process and barely manage to escape. As Eddie and Lily are evading more police, Mr. Shannon and Lyman Earl Collier are meeting in the C-Systems Research complex to discuss the current events. It becomes apparent that the plot to destroy the lab and frame Eddie and Lily for it was orchestrated by the company, and that Mr. Collier is the one who ordered the attack on the lab. Despite some disagreement, Mr. Shannon and Mr. Collier decide to continue the hunt for Eddie and Lily, a task made easier when Eddie sends a coded message to Mr. Shannon requesting another place to meet. At this new rendezvous, Mr. Shannon reveals that he was the one who framed Eddie. The meeting ends in an ambush, and Lily is captured as Eddie barely escapes.

By tracing the license plate on the van used in the ambush, Eddie is able to track them to the C-Systems Research facility where Lily and Chen are being held. When C-Systems' test reactor fails again, Mr. Shannon, the scientists and the prisoners all leave the room, so Eddie takes the opportunity to "fix" the system. The next morning, one of the other scientists discovers the working reactor and everyone celebrates. Mr. Shannon is suspicious, however, and tracks Eddie to a computer terminal. There, Eddie demands to be let go in exchange for making the reactor work. Mr. Collier refuses, beliving that the reactor already works, so Eddie sets the reactor to explode while sending proof of his innocence to the FBI. As the base self-destructs and Eddie and Lily make their escape, Mr. Shannon kills Mr. Collier for overstepping the bounds of the program and makes his escape.

[edit] Cast

• Keanu Reeves as Eddie Kasalivich: A machinist working on a team from the University of Chicago. He is forced on the run with Dr. Lily Sinclair when someone frames him for the murder of his boss, Dr. Alistair Barkley, and the destruction of his laboratory. He must work to clear their names before they are captured or killed.
• Morgan Freeman as Paul Shannon: The enigmatic leader of the project at the University of Chicago. His motives are unclear throughout the movie, but he advises Eddie to turn himself into the authorities. It is later disclosed that he is actually the head of the entire program that includes Collier, who tries to have the research team killed.
• Rachel Weisz as Dr. Lily Sinclair: Physicist working with Dr. Alistair Barkley. She goes on the run with Eddie when they are framed for Dr. Barkley's murder and the destruction of his laboratory.
• Fred Ward as FBI Agent Leon Ford: In charge of the investigation to discover the cause of the destruction of the laboratory. Initially focuses on Eddie and Lily, but soon suspects the involvement of larger government organizations.
• Kevin Dunn as FBI Agent Doyle: Leon Ford's assistant in the investigation. He helps Ford track down Eddie, Lily and later, C-Systems.
• Brian Cox as Lyman Earl Collier: Chairperson of C-Systems Research. The person behind the conspiracy to keep the Hydrogen power plant a secret.
• Joanna Cassidy as Maggie McDermott: An old friend of Eddie's who lives in an observatory in Wisconsin. Eddie and Lily head to her place after a warrant is issued for their arrest.
• Nicholas Rudall as Dr. Alistair Barkley: Head of the project to develop energy from water. He is suffocated in an attempt to frame Eddie for the explosion.
• Tzi Ma as Lu Chen: Project Manager on the Hydrogen Project and Dr. Barkley's right hand man. When Dr. Barkley is killed, Chen is kidnapped and forced to work at C-Systems under Lyman Collier.

[edit] Production

Large portions of the film were shot on location in and around Chicago, Illinois, including the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum of Natural History, and Michigan Avenue. Additional scenes were shot at Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, on Geneva Lake in southern Wisconsin, and at Inland Steel (now known as MITTAL Steel) in East Chicago, Indiana. Because of the cold Great Lakes winter and filming taking place during record breaking winter weather besides, unique challenges were present for the cast and crew, such as Morgan Freeman. He notes that "It was difficult for everyone, particularly for me because I'm tropical," he said. "I don't do cold weather. This is Chicago...in the winter. I was actually ill and in bed four days at a crack. It was really rough."^[1]

[edit] Reception

Critics have given it almost universally negative reviews, as evidenced by its 7% fresh rating from 29 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.^[2] Roger Ebert, who panned the film for its confusing narrative, noted its enjoyable action but said "By movie's end, I'd seen some swell photography and witnessed some thrilling chase scenes, but when it came to understanding the movie, I didn't have a clue."^[3] Meanwhile, Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle states that "The narrative is very complex, but what's on the screen is little more than generic, non-narrative-specific, guy-being-chased stuff"^[4], criticizing the lack of originality in the movie's script. Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle, however, felt that it was one of the summer's best movies, stating "[Chain Reaction] has better acting, better writing, more spectacular chase sequences and more genuine drama than all of this summer's blockbusters."^[5] Chain Reaction and its cast were nominated for only one award, with Keanu Reeves being nominated for the Razzie for Worst Actor, which he lost to Tom Arnold and Pauly Shore^[6].

Despite most being panned by most reviewers Chain Reaction was a minor financial success, making approximately USD$ 60,000,000^[7] worldwide. The film also retains respectable user ratings, with a user rating of B− on Yahoo! Movies^[8] and 5.1/10 stars in the Internet Movie Database^[9]

[edit] External links

• Chain Reaction at the Internet Movie Database
• Chain Reaction at Rotten Tomatoes
• Chain Reaction at Box Office Mojo

[edit] References