THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070026
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 64 lines
KEANU REEVES was likable as the vacant-headed dude who was one-half of Bill and Ted's greatest adventures, but it's impossible to believe that he could be the scientist who discovers the way to save the world's fuel problems. He's not quite as unbelievable as Charlie Sheen was earlier this summer as the scientist who saved the world from heat-seeking aliens in ``The Arrival'' - but almost.
Reeves, with a Prince Valiant haircut to replace his ``Speed'' buzz cut, is one of the least serious problems with ``Chain Reaction,'' which has a plot so absurd that it sparks laughter rather than gasps.
He plays a student machinist who discovers the frequency that can turn water into fuel. It's quite a feat. You'd think they might just give him the Nobel Prize and we could all order an extra box of popcorn with the money we'd save on gas. But no! This is the summer of high-tech explosion flicks and Hollywood is not going to give up on the formula at least until Sept. 1.
It seems that the mean U.S.A. is not willing to share the secret with the rest of the world. Reeves is framed for blowing up the lab and is pursued across Chicago, Wisconsin, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia by local police, the CIA and the FBI. Scowling at all times, he looks pretty winded but he outruns them all.
This is familiar territory for director Andrew Davis who directed ``The Fugitive,'' perhaps the best action flick of the past decade. Davis, though, has fallen on rough times after the box-office flop of his comedy-romance ``Steal Big, Steal Little'' with Andy Garcia. He's falling back into the formula, quickly.
The special effects are expensive, and terrific - grounded by an opening explosion that sends a fireball across Chicago, but audiences must be getting a little tired of this repetitious happening. ``Chain Reaction'' is no more ridiculous than ``Broken Arrow,'' but that movie let us know it was silly. It is no more routinely formulaic than ``Eraser,'' but the Arnold flick came out back when we were more into summer movies.
And, besides, explosions themselves cannot be viewed as lightly as they could three weeks ago. The real world is teaching us, painfully, that these events are not appropriate subjects for fun.
In spite of the obvious big budget, the lab equipment for the big experiment looks like a chug-a-lug water pump that might have been left over from a B-budget version of H.G. Wells' ``The Time Machine.''
Rachel Weisz, from ``Stealing Beauty,'' is the requisite beauty who runs with Reeves, but she is no more than decoration. She isn't even a love interest. They only hold hands - and there is no indication that they really give a hoot about each other.
The only semblance of class is lent by Morgan Freeman who seems to take seriously his assignment to play the rich head of the energy research program. Fred Ward is a gruff FBI pursuer. Brian Cox, a Brit, essays one of the worst Southern accents in recent movie-dom.
It all ends in an underground bunker in Leesburg, Va., - and not a minute too soon. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW
``Chain Reaction''
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Fred Ward,
Brian Cox
Director: Andrew Davis
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
MPAA rating: PG-13 (some intense action)
Mal's rating: two stars < by CNB