Hugh Johnson directs Skeet Ulrich, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Peter Firth in this action buddy movie where two regular guys must keep an ice cream truck full of deadly chemical weapons under 50 degrees and out of the clutches of some nasty mercenaries.

Chill Factor is exactly the type of movie this blog was created for almost 10 years ago. A blockbuster that never was. Made with a team that would never have been assembled any other year. With a high concept that actually is quite intriguing. And should be a cult item but has passed on into obscurity. The only time Chill Factor is ever mentioned is on listicles about studio projects that lost a ton of money. Skeet Ulrich was hot for about two weeks after Scream, Cuba was already pissing away his Academy success after Jerry Maguire. They don’t have much chemistry in this contrived Speed / Broken Arrow rip-off. But the script has the right buddy bickering and reluctant heroics dynamic. Who turned this down first? Denzel and Tom? Arnie and Eddie? Woody and Wesley? It would have made a fine third Woody and Wesley two hander… if the action got going a tad quicker. The first act takes up more than half the movie. The narrative really labours getting all its pieces in play before there are any big moves. So the meat (ice cream truck hurtling through highways and ravines on a sunny day, trying not explode) only lasts about twenty minutes. And with a C-list cast, the daft concept is the only reason you’d buy a ticket. So give us more of that for Skeet’s sake! Chill Factor does scratch a Wednesday night itch. It mildly entertains about as much a 99p 3-day VHS rental should. There is nothing within though that begs a belated rediscovery. Yet far worse flicks made their stupid over inflated budgets back. The flop status is a jot undeserved.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Chain Reaction (1996)

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