Chill Factor (1999)

Director:

Hugh Johnson

Writers (WGA):

Drew Gitlin (written by) &
Mike Cheda (written by)

Release Date:

1 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Thriller

Tagline:

This Fall, Action is served on the rocks, with a twist.

Plot:

If a new biological chemical weapon is exposed to temperatures over 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it'll do something very bad...

Plot Keywords:

Ice Cream Truck | Montana | Gun | Buddies | Restaurant

Cast

Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Arlo
Skeet Ulrich	...	Tim Mason
Peter Firth	...	Colonel Andrew Brynner
David Paymer	...	Dr. Richard Long
Hudson Leick	...	Vaughn
Daniel Hugh Kelly	...	Colonel Leo Vitelli
Kevin J. O'Connor	...	Telstar
Judson Mills	...	Dennis
Jordan Mott	...	Carl
Dwayne Macopson	...	Burke
Jim Grimshaw	...	Deputy Pappas
Richard Todd Aguayo	...	Gomez
K. Addison Young	...	Ranger at Dam
James Van Harper	...	Ranger in Chopper
Tommy Smeltzer	...	Deputy Art Lewis

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #36903) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Liberty, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

The exterior diner scenes were filmed in the small town of Liberty, South Carolina. In real life, the diner is actually a wood shop and the $15/night hotel is actually a coin-operated washette.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Arlo and Tim Mason are crossing the explosion site of the tanker their driver side mirror is smashed and the arms holding it are broken when the side of the truck scrapes the mountain. Then a few seconds later when the terrorist comes down off the cliff at the end of a rope and shoots at Tim Mason and Arlo the driver side mirror is intact.

Quotes:

Arlo: That's a very, very nice walkie-talkie you have there.

formulaic but passable action film

In `Chill Factor,' Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Skeet Ulrich star as two average guys who find themselves in a stolen ice cream truck transporting a volatile chemical weapon capable of destroying all animal life within a 500-mile diameter if the material (shades of `Speed') rises above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot on their tail come the men (and one woman) who will stop at nothing to retrieve the explosive as well as a dimwitted sheriff who mistakenly believes the two young gentlemen are responsible for the death of the scientist who both invented the substance and guards it from falling into enemy hands.

`Chill Factor' is a decent enough action film, short on credibility and originality but high on energy and visual attractiveness. The latter is attributable mainly to the gloriously scenic and beautifully photographed Montana countryside where the film is set. `Chill Factor' is also, however, replete with the usual array of action movie staples: impressive but wholly implausible action and stunt sequences, the running exchange of dimwitted quips and wearying verbal badinage - sometimes between the main characters themselves and sometimes between them and those who are out to kill them - that occurs virtually without pause throughout the movie and, finally, stock villains that come straight from the cinema factory that seems to spit out these cookie-cutter action films with almost unconscionable frequency.

On the positive side, director Hugh Johnson knows how to keep the action moving forward at a brisk pace and Gooding and Ulrich, despite the fact that the screenplay offers neither actor much of a chance to flex his thespian muscles, at least make for a likeable movie-buddy team. Still, one wonders whatever happened to Gooding, Jr.'s career which seemed so promising just a few years back after he won the Academy Award for his work in `Jerry Maguire.' Likeable as he is in `Chill Factor,' one would like to see this performer applying his talents to more challenging and worthy fare than he has of late been doing.