“Chill
Factor”
Starring:
Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Peter Firth
[APRIL 7, 2000] If
you miss the first seven minutes of this movie, you won’t
understand the plot, the characters won’t make sense and you
won’t have as good a time! “Chill Factor” is a roller
coaster, and you can get in the car if you want to.
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On
a remote island somewhere in the world, government scientists are
working under extreme secrecy to develop a new generation of
chemical weapons. Ordered to shut down the project, Major Andrew
Brynner (Peter Firth) puts pressure on the scientists to wrap up
their projects. The added pressure causes Dr. Richard Long (David
Paymer) to hurry his final experiment, and you guessed it,
something goes wrong. Nineteen commandos assisting the project are
killed instantly. The government has found its newest deadly
chemical weapon. Demoted to captain, Brynner takes the blame for
their deaths, goes to prison and Dr. Long is moved to Montana to
further develop this new chemical variant.
In
prison, embittered Brynner hatches a plot to steal the new
chemical weapon and sell it to the highest bidder when he is
released.
Tim
Mason (Skeet Ulrich) befriends Dr. Long in the wilds of Montana,
fishing for trout. Mason is living the drifter life after a few
bad life-choices. He is currently a short-order cook in a café,
working for his grumpy, overbearing boss. In an interesting
intersection of time, Brynner is released from prison, assembles a
team of high-tech terrorists, and begins stalking Dr. Long. Mason
is wrongly accused by the law for petty infractions, and a
would-be ice cream salesman named Arlo (Cuba Gooding Jr.) shows up
at the café to peddle stolen ice cream.
At
a nearby military base, the terrorists overpower the guards and
make their way to the chemical weapons lab. Dr. Long is mortally
wounded. He escapes with the weapon, dubbed “Elvis” (yes, they
use the line “Elvis has left the building!”). In his dying
scene, Dr. Long puts the chemical weapon, the story of its
development and the responsibility for saving the world into the
drifter’s hands.
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The
roller coaster is now at the top of the first rise. Time to let go of
the bar and put your hands in the air. Screaming is optional.
This
rest of the story is about how Mason and Arlo transport the chemical
weapon to a distant military base in a stolen ice cream truck. They
are chased by terrorists, misunderstood by the law and blamed by the
military.
I
had a good time watching this movie. It offers quite a few good
laughs, and overall you will remark to yourself that the plot is fun
but highly improbable.
Language
and violence are a problem in this film. Hard language is used amidst
comic behavior (in other words, it’s the kind of language your
children are likely to repeat because of the way it is conveyed). Gory
scenes depicting the power of the new weapon and the violence of the
chase scenes make this an inappropriate movie for the under-16 age
group.
I
think this film is worth the rental and worth the time to watch. Cuba
Gooding Jr. seems to have a good time in this film, and I think it is
contagious. Maybe even a good date movie. I give this movie 2½ stars
out of 5.
[midge]
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