THE CHILL FACTOR

Susan Granger’s review of “THE CHILL FACTOR” (Warner Brothers)

In this wannabe action-thriller, the mid-August tranquillity of a tiny tropical atoll in the South Pacific is shattered when a covert scientific military research operation, code name “Elvis,” goes terribly wrong. As a result, only the scientist who invented the formula and a disgraced Army officer remain alive. Skip ahead ten years to a hot summer day in the tiny town of Jerome, Montana, where two young men – Cuba Gooding Jr. (Oscar winner for “Jerry Maguire”) and Skeet Ulrich – are in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the guilt-stricken scientist (David Paymer) is murdered by the villainous Major (Peter Firth), these two hapless guys must transport the toxic and potentially combustible chemical weapon and safely deliver it to Fort Magruder, 90 miles away. Only, they have to keep it frozen, and the only refrigerated vehicle available is Gooding’s ice-cream truck. Of course, the Major’s tactical team is in hot pursuit of “Elvis on ice.” Kind of reminds you of the concept “Speed,” doesn’t it? Plus a French thriller called “Wages of Fear” with much the same plotline. The profanity-laden screenplay by Drew Gitlin and Mike Cheda is dumb and derivative, and novice Hugh Johnson’s directing is by-the-numbers, relying on violent hand-to-hand combat, macho gunplay, and loud explosions. And how is it that everyone seems to know everyone else’s cell-phone number when I can’t even remember my own? On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Chill Factor” is a numbingly stupid 3. It’s toxic, all right.

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