Really Surprised!

Dreadfully Boring

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

I remember seeing the trailer for this film way back in 96 at the cinema. It looked really quite cool and exciting, Reeves was flying high at the time and it boasted some snazzy CGI, talk about deceptive!The whole film seemed to be centred around one sequence. That sequence being the huge explosion that occurs near the start and wipes out a vast area of Chicago, nuclear in appearance. Now this was back in the days when CGI was still a newish weapon and big flashy destructive sequences like this were looked upon as impressive and breaking the barrier.Looking back it is a nice effect but of course its dated and the cracks are showing, but I'm not gonna moan about that. The problem is the rest of the film is really quite dull, visuals are dull, action is dull and the acting is even dull despite a very good cast line up. Reeves is his usual monotone self, Weisz is a complete drip and Freeman now looks pretty clichéd in his natty Malcolm X looking 90's suit and hat. It really does feel like they wanted to show off their CGI destruction sequence so they made an entire film around that one moment. A completely by the numbers action thriller (if you can call it that) that covers every aspect you'd expect from the fugitive chase movie book. Bland boring so very very predictable and the films title is one of those totally meaningless but cool sounding types that looks even cooler with a striking font.4/10

Simply put, one of my favorite movies of the 90s, because I'm a big fan of the Fugitive. This plot follows it adds a bit of a new age spin on it. Enjoyable flick with very good actors and a cast that features Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Fred Ward, Brian Cox, Rachel Weisz and many others, highly recommended if you're a fan of the Fugitive or U.S. Marshalls!The story is about a chemist & his friend suspected of murdering their mentor and Reeves & Weisz receive help from a friend of their fallen colleague and they try and find out who is trying to frame them for murder. Much like The Fugitive, which ironically is done by most of the same crew and features some of the actors from that film, it's a great flick to pass the time on.

Another good Keanu Reeves(as a machinist) thriller, and I must say the starcast is sexy! There's Rachel Weisz(a fellow scientist), Morgan Freeman(funds a secret science project), Brian Cox(as chairman of a secret research facility) and also Fred Ward(as FBI agent).I actually thought Chain Reaction would be a sci-fi thriller, but the sci-fi part isn't really there. We've only the beginning and the ending scene where some hydrogen reaction is shown. Rest of the movie is all about catch Keanu if you can! Rachel & he flees the cops, the FBI and some operatives intend on killing them while they try to expose the murky truth.Keanu, Rachel, Morgan and even Brian Cox are good. Also very good special effects, especially the massive explosion in the beginning which paves the way for the excitement that follows.Some of the disappointments included the ending bits. Keanu seems to easily find his way to a secret, heavily-guarded research facility, to not only rescue Rachel Weisz but also bring the entire kilometres-long facility crashing down to earth! That wasn't convincing. And also Rachel had a really weak role, as compared to Keanu or Morgan. Maybe that was the beginning phase of her career.Of course, it also bewilders me that Keanu also easily finds answers to fix the chemical reactions or even set it to explode if our bad guys don't turn back! I think I risk disliking the movie if I ask too many questions :p Verdict: Just leave your questions unanswered. You could like the movie & the suspense that way :-)

This movie centers on the heroes being chased all over the map having been framed for murder and treason. They make all sorts of clever attempts to evade their pursuers. However, neither of them does one thing to change their appearance -- they don't cut their hair, they don't color it, and the Keanu Reeves character doesn't shave his beard. And the escape from certain death at the end is way beyond belief!I'm willing to suspend a little disbelief but am I supposed to think this is even remotely realistic? Naturally this plot contained twists and turns and bad guys who looked at first like good guys. But I found myself anticipating virtually all of it. There were few surprises except how transparent the story was.Sadly, I can't help wondering how so many good actors got involved with this lousy movie although we see that often in Hollywood.