Chain Reaction (1996)

Directed by Andrew Davis. Starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Dunn, Fred Ward, Brian Cox, Joanna Cassidy, Nicholas Rudall, Chelcie Ross, Tzi Ma, Krzysztof Pieczyński, Eddie Bo Smith Jr. [PG-13]

Machinist Reeves, working on a hydrogen-based clean energy project, discovers the team leader has been murdered and barely escapes with his life after a reactor is sabotaged; soon after, he takes it on the run with a physicist (Weisz), the feds and the mysterious bad guys in pursuit. Well-directed, as far as these kinds of thrillers go, though the complexities of the conspiracy don’t make much sense (or they’re poorly explained), especially since the filmmakers are far more interested in setting up an almost endless series of far-fetched chases and close-calls where more pleasures are generated from the travelogue qualities than the excitement factor. Freeman goes through the motions as the heavy, while the two stars have virtually no chemistry, functioning as if they’re not even sharing scenes together. When Reeves hijacks an air-boat on a frozen lake, Weisz asks him what he’s doing, and he answers, “The best I can!”…but, surely, this was no one’s best effort. Michael Shannon has a bit part.

42/100