CHILL FACTOR * 1/2 (out of five stars) A review by Jamey Hughton
Starring-Cuba Gooding Jr., Skeet Ulrich, Peter Firth and David Paymer Director-Hugh Johnson Rated 14A Warner Bros.
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Chill Factor is a carbon copy of Speed with one notable exception: instead of a speeding bus, we now have an ice cream truck. The truck is driven by Arlo (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and Mason (Skeet Ulrich), who have been instructed by a dying scientist to transport a deadly chemical weapon to a military base by the name of Fort McGruder. This particular weapon (nicknamed `Elvis') must be kept below a temperature of 50 degrees, or else the shockwave will goo-iffy everything in a mile radius. That would be pretty nasty.
The power of Elvis is revealed in the opening scene, as Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer) conducts a test on an isolated tropical island. Long accidentally melts 18 soldiers and defoliates virtually the entire island, due to an enormously miscalculated safety distance. The commanding officer, General Brynner (Peter Firth), is sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of his troops.
Upon his release, the General is intent on tracking the good doctor down, snatching Elvis, and selling the weapon to the highest international bidder. Protecting the fate of the world is a drifting hamburger flipper (Ulrich) and a feisty ice cream delivery man (Gooding Jr.), who must elude Brynner's men and get Elvis to safety at Fort McGruder. All the while, of course, they must keep the weapon below 50 degrees. This proves to be tricky. Among the wild adventures Arlo and Mason partake in is a trip down a tree-covered mountainside in a boat, and a fist fight on top of a moving vehicle. They also crack a few dozen witty retorts that we are supposed to find amusing.
To put it simply, I'll use a clever pun: Chill Factor should be put on ice. Director Hugh Johnson has mixed elements from Speed, Broken Arrow and the Lethal Weapon series to create a lifelessly bland cocktail of a chase movie. When there is some occasional action, the audience seems oddly detached from it. Perhaps that's because we've already waded through a pool of clichés and boring dialogue; all material that's been used before, and with a lot more spice. Take the villains, for example. They are typical stereotypes of every terrorist that has ever walked the silver screen. They speak lines that have been recycled profusely from one movie to the next, divulge important plot details while holding their enemies at gunpoint, and act in very predictable ways.
The tag-team of Gooding Jr. and Ulrich sounds much more exciting than it is. Frankly, I'm not sure I can accept Cuba as an ice cream man. I suppose it's better than him dressed like a giant hot dog, selling jumbo frankfurters on a street corner. Gooding displays one single emotion in this movie, which is frequently on display in lines like `I'm gonna get on yo ass like last year's underwear!' and the incessant sputtering of `Oh, sh*t!' This is virtually the same character he played in Jerry Maguire and As Good as it Gets. But where Gooding was once an exciting actor, he now seems dull and endlessly monotonous. At least he's a bit more captivating than Ulrich, who has all the film's worst dialogue, but does nothing noticeable to enliven his character. The supporting cast, which includes every personality you expect to pop up, is also wasted.
To be fair, there are a few brief moments of serviceable action. And I did chuckle a few times. One example is when Ulrich (an employee at `Darlene's Diner') is at the counter when Brynner walks through the door. `You own this place?' the General asks. `Yeah,' Ulrich says. `They call me Darlene.' These little tidbits of humor are (mainly) welcome in this weak, disappointing wreckage of an action film. As a Speed clone, it could have benefited from a lot more suspense and perhaps (God forbid) even some decent writing. Sadly, I walked away from Chill Factor only wondering how much fun it could have been.
(C) 1999, Jamey Hughton
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