5.8 | / 10 |
Users | ![]() | 4.1 |
Reviewer | ![]() | 3.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.3 |
A student machinist finds himself caught in a maze of murder, government cover-ups and hi-tech espionage while working on a ground-breaking scientific experiment. Eddie Kasalivich and Lily Sinclair are part of a team of scientists who have developed a revolutionary new source of energy. But no sooner have they finished celebrating their triumph, than their lab is destroyed and the head of their team killed. Named as the main suspects, Eddie and Lily quickly realize their only hope lies with Paul Shannon, a powerful and foundation head, who may or may not be on their side.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Fred Ward, Kevin DunnAction | Uncertain |
Thriller | Uncertain |
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, French, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | ![]() | 3.5 |
Video | ![]() | 3.0 |
Audio | ![]() | 4.0 |
Extras | ![]() | 1.0 |
Overall | ![]() | 3.0 |
As we pause occasionally to fill gaps in the review base, it's interesting to consider how Blu-ray
has progressed over its short lifespan. Chain Reaction was one of Fox's earliest releases, and it
reflects many of the limitations typical of the format's beginning: MPEG-2 compression, a BD-25 and almost no special features. Then again, the disc
loads quickly, doesn't churn over the latest copy protection scheme, never tries to check the internet for updates, and displays a simple
menu that's easy and intuitive to navigate. If the disc were issued today, the image would
certainly be superior, and it might include additional features. But would it be so user-friendly?
Issues of historical perspective also affect one's experience of the film. Chain Reaction united
two veterans of unconventional and hugely successful chase movies: director Andrew Davis (The
Fugitive) and star Keanu Reeves (Speed). The film uses the familiar device of a man
wrongly accused and trying to prove his innocence while evading the authorities, but it overlays that
narrative with a paranoid scenario straight out of Seventies thrillers like The Parallax View
and Three Days of the Condor. Here, it's all about a scientific breakthrough that will make fossil
fuels obsolete, and a shadowy conspiracy -- maybe government, maybe corporate, maybe both --
that wants to control it. Today it's almost comical to hear one character warn that the abrupt
release of such technology would trigger stock market collapses, recession and massive
unemployment, since we managed to achieve those things without the benefits of clean, cheap
energy. But it just goes to show that no one really knows the future.
Note: Contrary to the disc jacket, the aspect ratio is 1.85:1, which was the original AR, not
2.35:1.
Fox was still using MPEG-2 compression in the early days of Blu-ray, and the 1080p Blu-ray of
Chain Reaction shows its limitations. While the image is an obvious improvement over the
DVD, it isn't nearly as clean or as clear as later Blu-ray images created with advanced codecs
like the AVC that is now standard on Fox discs. Video noise is present throughout the frame
(some viewers might mistake it for "grain", but it isn't), and while it rarely becomes so intrusive
that it interferes with viewing enjoyment, it does prevent the Blu-ray from retaining all the fine
detail in backgrounds, especially in wide shots, of which the format is capable. Occasionally
there is visible aliasing or other artifacts that might or might not appear with a superior
compression scheme; one must also bear in mind that the transfer is also at least five years old
(and probably more).
Black levels are very good, which results in good detail, when it isn't being interfered with by
noise. This is particularly noteworthy in details of hair, clothing, furniture and lab equipment,
especially in close and medium shots. (Shannon's luxurious wardrobe deserves extra
appreciation.) The colors captured by cinematographer Frank Tidy (a regular collaborator of
Davis) are represented in all their variation, although the palette heavily emphasizes blues, grays
and greens, consistent with both the nature of the scientific work and the unceasing chill, both
real (it's winter outside) and figurative (it's a cold, cruel world, as Shannon keeps warning
everyone).
Other than the MPEG-2 artifacts, I didn't see anything to indicate compression problems or
inappropriate digital tampering. With few special features and a limited number of audio tracks,
this 106-minute feature fits on a BD-25 adequately.
The original 5.1 mix is presented in DTS lossless, and it's very effective. When the team first powers up their experiment, you'll hear (and feel) the surge all around you. When the lab blows, your subwoofer had better be up to the task, or it'll bottom out. (Mine did, because I live in an apartment, and I can't accommodate a giant box.) Numerous sounds appropriate to the film's various environments occur in the surrounds; and in the final sequences set in an expansive underground facility that would have been suitable for a Bond film, there's almost always something interesting happening in the surrounds. This is a lively but not overcooked or bombastic mix that tries to keep one foot planted in some sort of realism (which is how Davis makes his films). Dialogue remains intelligible throughout, and Jerry Goldsmith's score, which at times echoes the score he wrote for Executive Decision the same year, is nicely reproduced and effectively folded into the mix.
The DVD released in 2001 had two TV spots that are not included here, and it also featured a
different selection of trailers for other Fox features. It did not include the "trivia track" listed
below, which, as far as I know, is exclusive to the Blu-ray.
As a thriller, Chain Reaction holds up well, largely because so many directors working today
don't have Davis' craftsmanship when it comes to setting up a scene and steering an audience
through it. (The essence of suspense, as Hitchcock taught, is knowing what's going on.) As a
comment on geopolitical events, the film falls under the heading of the famous line from
Hemingway, "Isn't it pretty to think so?" It would be wonderful if someone discovered a clean,
cheap source of readily available energy. It would be even more wonderful if that someone chose
to release it free to the world instead of profiting handsomely from it. And it would be truly awe-inspiring
if we had one or more government agencies that were so efficiently and effectively run
that they actually knew what was happening in the world before it happened.
Given its technical limitations, I can't wholeheartedly recommend the Blu-ray of Chain Reaction
(unless you can find it used or very cheap). Hopefully Fox will revisit it -- keeping the clean,
simple menu and leaving off the BD-Java, BD-Live and endless ads and forced trailers. Pretty
please?
2015
2012
Unrated Edition
2012
2011
2012
1996
2008
2014
2017
1996
2012
2019
Extended Cut
2013
2006
1998
1996
Unrated
2015
2017
2019
The Expatriate
2012