31 opiniones
- Hey_Sweden
- 9 ene 2013
- Enlace permanente
For a low-budget film this Chain of Command is very entertaining & well made.
We have a classy cast here with the cinema legend, Roy Scheider (Jaws 1&2, Blue Thunder, Sorcerer) & B-movie star, Patrick Muldoon (Starship Troopers, Red Team) & old school action genre star, Maria Conchita Alonzo (The Running Man, Colors, Predator 2) & 80's Sci-fi action hero, Michael Biehn (Aliens, Terminator) & plenty of action.
Patrick Muldoon plays Michael Connelly a secret service agent that protects the US president Jack Cahill (Scheider) & gets assigned to protect the presidents metal briefcase containing a remote launching system for nuclear missiles & of course foreign terrorists want it. Chain of Command is a typical terrorist thriller like many others but for it's low-budget it's actually a fun watch. The great Roy Scheider is a main lead role which is always nice to see as he's one of my all-time favorite actors. Scheider plays the president as a slightly corrupted man (like they all are in real life) who has many affairs but apart from that he's a decent character & not a completely corrupted A-hole like many of his later career characters. It's a comfort seeing Scheider on screen in his later years. Maria Conchita Alonzo gives a good performance for her small part here as Vice President Gloria Valdez, she steps up as a smart voice of reason when the President is captured by the terrorists & just hearing her iconic voice brought back a sense of comfort with memories of her in some childhood faves i grew up watching on video (The Running Man & Predator 2) & reminded me how great she is on screen. Scheider & Alonzo both steal the show with their real good acting talents & both of them never "call it in" with their performances.
Anyway, Patrick Muldoon does a fine job as the action hero trying to save the president & stop a nuclear war.
Michael Biehn is wasted though as a very typical double crossing government agent, a part that could've been played by any cheap nameless actor. This action film is full of political stuff, foreign terrorists, overseas threat, nuclear missiles & corruption. The events within the film can be looked at as actually very seriously relevant now in 2022. Chain of Command is a decent little thriller that keeps you entertained with it's many shootouts & double crossings even if it's all very similar to bigger films of this genre. It's very nicely shot with rich colours & textures that's shot on film!!! Nearly everything today is shot on digital & it has a good exciting music score.
And as said it's always nice to watch the great acting talent of movie legend Roy Scheider & in a main role.
We have a classy cast here with the cinema legend, Roy Scheider (Jaws 1&2, Blue Thunder, Sorcerer) & B-movie star, Patrick Muldoon (Starship Troopers, Red Team) & old school action genre star, Maria Conchita Alonzo (The Running Man, Colors, Predator 2) & 80's Sci-fi action hero, Michael Biehn (Aliens, Terminator) & plenty of action.
Patrick Muldoon plays Michael Connelly a secret service agent that protects the US president Jack Cahill (Scheider) & gets assigned to protect the presidents metal briefcase containing a remote launching system for nuclear missiles & of course foreign terrorists want it. Chain of Command is a typical terrorist thriller like many others but for it's low-budget it's actually a fun watch. The great Roy Scheider is a main lead role which is always nice to see as he's one of my all-time favorite actors. Scheider plays the president as a slightly corrupted man (like they all are in real life) who has many affairs but apart from that he's a decent character & not a completely corrupted A-hole like many of his later career characters. It's a comfort seeing Scheider on screen in his later years. Maria Conchita Alonzo gives a good performance for her small part here as Vice President Gloria Valdez, she steps up as a smart voice of reason when the President is captured by the terrorists & just hearing her iconic voice brought back a sense of comfort with memories of her in some childhood faves i grew up watching on video (The Running Man & Predator 2) & reminded me how great she is on screen. Scheider & Alonzo both steal the show with their real good acting talents & both of them never "call it in" with their performances.
Anyway, Patrick Muldoon does a fine job as the action hero trying to save the president & stop a nuclear war.
Michael Biehn is wasted though as a very typical double crossing government agent, a part that could've been played by any cheap nameless actor. This action film is full of political stuff, foreign terrorists, overseas threat, nuclear missiles & corruption. The events within the film can be looked at as actually very seriously relevant now in 2022. Chain of Command is a decent little thriller that keeps you entertained with it's many shootouts & double crossings even if it's all very similar to bigger films of this genre. It's very nicely shot with rich colours & textures that's shot on film!!! Nearly everything today is shot on digital & it has a good exciting music score.
And as said it's always nice to watch the great acting talent of movie legend Roy Scheider & in a main role.
- lukem-52760
- 6 dic 2022
- Enlace permanente
- hwg1957-102-265704
- 15 mar 2023
- Enlace permanente
Browsing idly among the movie list on satellite TV I happened on this gem, of which I had no previous knowledge. I watched it through to the bitter end, wondering all the time whether it would lapse into reality, or continue to provide yet another surprise. Suffice it to say that, with the labyrinthine windings of the plot, the intercutting of scenes, the wonderful stereotypes effortlessly portrayed together with the sheer improbability of the story, placed this film in a class of its own for entertainment value (in the fullest sense of the word) and I would recommend it as a good way to pass an hour or two. One mystery, however, remains unsolved - why are all these highly trained people such bad shots and why do they have weapons which rarely, if ever, require reloading ? I was, incidentally,much taken with Iris, the Chinese undercover agent (Korean actress, actually)- she deserves better parts in better films !
- JBall75487
- 8 dic 2001
- Enlace permanente
- roehlbriones
- 5 may 2005
- Enlace permanente
Chain of command was not a bad movie to buy, because it was cheap, only 3 euros. I bought it only for my Michael Biehn collection, but I was still hoping it to be good. Well, it was average. It had the top actors(though I haven't ever heard of Patrick Muldoon), and ok story.But where was the concentration when making this movie. it was made only with 100% concentration when it should have been made with 110%.It is made with big rush just like the time would end or something. I'm not disappointed because I know it had the change to become a good movie.The idea was good, making it true was not.
- jarkantt
- 4 dic 2003
- Enlace permanente
I at first thought this little fantasy excursion would be a little entertaining. I was wrong.
A good cast (Roy Scheider as the president) didn't help it any. The story had every conceivable possible worst-case scenario that could take place in a terrorist nuclear disaster. And none of it could PLAUSIBLY happen!
True -- the kidnapping of the President could only be accomplished with the inside help of a traitor in the Secret Service (ala Air Force One), but everything they depicted regarding the FOOTBALL and the helplessness of our country if were to fall into enemy hands is ludicrous to the Nth degree. Seriously, not even the President can fully over-ride our missile control. The case is only used to relay orders. In this situation, our system would have completely deleted the codes and the whole thing would go nowhere. The destruction of Beijing couldn't happen -- there would not have been a missile launch because the silo-crews would have been instructed not to (communications include a hardwired system). There are just too many safe-guards to prevent such a thing from happening.
True, film's like FAIL-SAFE and STRANGELOVE gave some credibility to the concept of us losing control of THE SYSTEM. But this film goes too far and fails to suspend my concept of the unbelievable. And that makes the experience a waste of the viewer's time. This film is a failure.
A good cast (Roy Scheider as the president) didn't help it any. The story had every conceivable possible worst-case scenario that could take place in a terrorist nuclear disaster. And none of it could PLAUSIBLY happen!
True -- the kidnapping of the President could only be accomplished with the inside help of a traitor in the Secret Service (ala Air Force One), but everything they depicted regarding the FOOTBALL and the helplessness of our country if were to fall into enemy hands is ludicrous to the Nth degree. Seriously, not even the President can fully over-ride our missile control. The case is only used to relay orders. In this situation, our system would have completely deleted the codes and the whole thing would go nowhere. The destruction of Beijing couldn't happen -- there would not have been a missile launch because the silo-crews would have been instructed not to (communications include a hardwired system). There are just too many safe-guards to prevent such a thing from happening.
True, film's like FAIL-SAFE and STRANGELOVE gave some credibility to the concept of us losing control of THE SYSTEM. But this film goes too far and fails to suspend my concept of the unbelievable. And that makes the experience a waste of the viewer's time. This film is a failure.
- robeykr
- 30 ago 2001
- Enlace permanente
I caught this routine, cliché ridden, action pic that rips off most action movies you have seen before, on TV last night, and in the absence of anything else on, I decided to give it a go since Roy Scheider can always be relied upon for a good performance, even if the movies themselves are not of the highest standard.
What makes Chain of Command more interesting than the average action flick is good old Roy's President who seems clearly modelled on Bill Clinton and his womanising. The opening has him eyeing up his friends new wife while she plays tennis, and then it cuts to two Secret Service Men guarding a toilet door as Scheider has sex with her. One of them is Patrick Muldoon and he is the hero of the movie. He is dull, lifeless and is an awful actor. Scheider simply acts him off the screen every scene they share. Michael Beihn pops up as a nasty piece of work and he too does the same!!
It has a little bit of a surprise ending, but it's nothing original
What makes Chain of Command more interesting than the average action flick is good old Roy's President who seems clearly modelled on Bill Clinton and his womanising. The opening has him eyeing up his friends new wife while she plays tennis, and then it cuts to two Secret Service Men guarding a toilet door as Scheider has sex with her. One of them is Patrick Muldoon and he is the hero of the movie. He is dull, lifeless and is an awful actor. Scheider simply acts him off the screen every scene they share. Michael Beihn pops up as a nasty piece of work and he too does the same!!
It has a little bit of a surprise ending, but it's nothing original
- slightlymad22
- 19 ago 2014
- Enlace permanente
This is no doubt one of the worst movies i have seen in a long time. I was expecting alot more from the actors. It started alright, then things go from idiotic to absolutely ridiculous. Definitely not worth renting except if its a free rental.
- denial7910
- 13 ene 2002
- Enlace permanente
- CherryBlossomBoy
- 11 jun 2007
- Enlace permanente
Ugh. This movie has so many unbelievable plot contrivances that they made what could have been a good movie into a hideous mess. The story is halfway decent, but the holes in the plot make the execution literally laughable. We're actually supposed to believe that the Secret Service would go against all common sense and allow the President of the United States to be put at unbelievable risk. If this is an indication of the kind of thinking that passes for good judgment among the President's protectors, then we're all in trouble. Roy Scheider turns in a good performance as the President, but it is unfortunately offset by the truly loathsome acting of Patrick Muldoon (who somehow continues to get jobs in Hollywood based solely upon his good looks and his uncanny knack of smirking at every opportunity, regardless of whether the script calls for a smirk). Perhaps someone will see this and be inspired to make a good movie from the premise--or, perhaps someone will see it and say, "Hey, if they can get a movie this bad made, maybe I can, too!"
- The Phan
- 10 ago 2000
- Enlace permanente
this is a nice film, pleasently suprised. far better than rating suggests.
although the basic idea of good vs evil, one counrty vs another has been demonstrated time and tuime again (e.g. bond films) the twists in this film certainly set it apart. its wonderful entertainment -probably great chick flick to. nice acting - especially vice president, gerneal and president himself.
the film starts out rather strange, lots of things going on - not clear how the film will go. however, everything unfolds very well, very clearly and at the right time. the presidential discussions are very lifelike and beliveable.
the concept of this film (won't be revealed here) is very good, haven't seen anything quite like it. the twists are excellent, u think u know whats going on and ofocurse it turns your wrong or something unaccepted happens. the film is gripping, u want to know whats around the corner. time really flies.
the action scenes are rather good too, sure not up there with james bond, but decent nevetherless. the sound is good too, perfect foir the type of film. the stunts are excellent - gerat martial arts action as well and guns and missiles.
the best thing though, is how the good guys dont get what they want. quite simply all hell breaks loose. finally, a film where the bad guys cause serious permanent havoc.
this film has everything. its an all in one for sure. this is every bit a blockbuster as a james bond or idependece day. great entertainment on a saturday with mates, and can be watched over and over agin
although the basic idea of good vs evil, one counrty vs another has been demonstrated time and tuime again (e.g. bond films) the twists in this film certainly set it apart. its wonderful entertainment -probably great chick flick to. nice acting - especially vice president, gerneal and president himself.
the film starts out rather strange, lots of things going on - not clear how the film will go. however, everything unfolds very well, very clearly and at the right time. the presidential discussions are very lifelike and beliveable.
the concept of this film (won't be revealed here) is very good, haven't seen anything quite like it. the twists are excellent, u think u know whats going on and ofocurse it turns your wrong or something unaccepted happens. the film is gripping, u want to know whats around the corner. time really flies.
the action scenes are rather good too, sure not up there with james bond, but decent nevetherless. the sound is good too, perfect foir the type of film. the stunts are excellent - gerat martial arts action as well and guns and missiles.
the best thing though, is how the good guys dont get what they want. quite simply all hell breaks loose. finally, a film where the bad guys cause serious permanent havoc.
this film has everything. its an all in one for sure. this is every bit a blockbuster as a james bond or idependece day. great entertainment on a saturday with mates, and can be watched over and over agin
- m_viknaraja
- 26 sep 2002
- Enlace permanente
- tarbosh22000
- 23 jun 2021
- Enlace permanente
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
Chain Of Command is worth renting to pass the time as an action movie.Roy Scheider is well cast as a measly,self serving US president,the plot is pleasantly arousing and intricate,and this must be the most boner inducing Chinese chick I've ever seen.The dialogue is cliched and smelly,but luckily,I was expecting this in a movie like this.This movie holds your attention well,and should be observed for it.***
Chain Of Command is worth renting to pass the time as an action movie.Roy Scheider is well cast as a measly,self serving US president,the plot is pleasantly arousing and intricate,and this must be the most boner inducing Chinese chick I've ever seen.The dialogue is cliched and smelly,but luckily,I was expecting this in a movie like this.This movie holds your attention well,and should be observed for it.***
- wellthatswhatithinkanyway
- 10 sep 2000
- Enlace permanente
Poorly done political actioner. Badly photographed, acted, and directed. Every single scene is underlighted, including those very few that are shot during the daytime. It doesn't matter what the location is. At an important conference in the White House, no lights are on, and the only available lighting is a gloomy blue that is filtered through a few windows. The primier of China conducts an earth-shattering phone conversation under conditions of such intense chiaroscuro that he should be contemplating a bust of Homer in a Rembrandt painting. Honest. It's as if he had a tiny spotlight on his face and was otherwise in total darkness. The slow motion deaths are by now obligatory in any ill-thought-out movie.
Roy Scheider and Maria Conchita Alonzo do well by their roles, but Scheider is rarely on screen. The other performances are dismissable. There is a pretty Oriental woman in a short tight skirt who totes a gun and is right out of a Bond movie who's accent suggests a childhood spent in Basset, Nebraska, and who should have remained the model she probably started out as. Whoever plays the surviving Secret Service agent aboard the cruise ship was probably picked for the part because he looked most like Johnny Depp, not because of any display of talent. The Chinese villains, representing both Taiwan and mainland China, hiss and grin as they threaten the heroes.
The script is pretty awful, recycled from other, better films. There is a lot of shooting aboard the ship and practically everyone winds up mincemeat. Two thirds of the way through, the ship explodes into the expected series of fireballs. Then the movie splits into two related parts. Part one, another shootout, this time in a waterfront warehouse. Part two, an exchange between the Vice President, now acting president, and the oily Chinese premiere, lifted out of both "Dr. Strangelove" and "Fail Safe." We unwittingly launch our missiles. They launch theirs in retaliation. We cannot convince them that our launch was accidental, even though we offer to help them destroy our own missiles. There is even the George C. Scott/ Walter Matthau general who argues that their "nucular" armory can't match ours so we should hit them with everything we've got. More fireballs.
The end comes none too soon.
Roy Scheider and Maria Conchita Alonzo do well by their roles, but Scheider is rarely on screen. The other performances are dismissable. There is a pretty Oriental woman in a short tight skirt who totes a gun and is right out of a Bond movie who's accent suggests a childhood spent in Basset, Nebraska, and who should have remained the model she probably started out as. Whoever plays the surviving Secret Service agent aboard the cruise ship was probably picked for the part because he looked most like Johnny Depp, not because of any display of talent. The Chinese villains, representing both Taiwan and mainland China, hiss and grin as they threaten the heroes.
The script is pretty awful, recycled from other, better films. There is a lot of shooting aboard the ship and practically everyone winds up mincemeat. Two thirds of the way through, the ship explodes into the expected series of fireballs. Then the movie splits into two related parts. Part one, another shootout, this time in a waterfront warehouse. Part two, an exchange between the Vice President, now acting president, and the oily Chinese premiere, lifted out of both "Dr. Strangelove" and "Fail Safe." We unwittingly launch our missiles. They launch theirs in retaliation. We cannot convince them that our launch was accidental, even though we offer to help them destroy our own missiles. There is even the George C. Scott/ Walter Matthau general who argues that their "nucular" armory can't match ours so we should hit them with everything we've got. More fireballs.
The end comes none too soon.
- rmax304823
- 15 ago 2002
- Enlace permanente
- gridoon2025
- 1 mar 2011
- Enlace permanente
COC had its moments. I enjoyed the action sequences, but I despised the screenplay and plot. I hate this film so much, I'll just write about the dumbest part. First of all, the plot would never happen. Second, the bleakness of the Chinese President was uncalled for. That would never happen. Finally, the dialogue. Employing non-Chinese actors to play Chinese roles is understandable, but to write dialogue for them that's TOTALLY OFF is dumb! For those of you who understood the Chinese in the film, you know what I mean.
- ManixTT
- 2 ago 2000
- Enlace permanente
An action film with weak political arguments. A Taiwanese "maffia" group arrests the president of USA, Roy Scheider (!!!!) and takes over the box with nuclear bottoms. The Taiwaneses are decided to attack China mainland with US nuclear bombs. So the main plot is around how to avoid the war, to fight against the Taiwaneses and to get back the box. The president is killed and the vice- president, the Cuban actress María Conchita Alonso, i.e. a latino lady (!!!!) is taking the control of the action. At the end the evils are in the mainland and not in Taiwan because the vice- president had to press the Chinese president to avoid a real nuclear war although Washington D.C. in the film is destroyed.
- esteban1747
- 2 jul 2002
- Enlace permanente
Schieder delivers a semi-believable part as the President of the United States with politically correct Maria Conchita Alonzo as the female Vice President. The movie just stinks. with so many plot holes its a wonder they got it to stick to the film it was shot on. Relegated to late night HBO time schedules, this film is not worth seeing at all. 10 minutes into it, you are asking yourself why it was written. 40 minutes into it, you are wondering why you are watching it. Save the effort and watch a re-run of Hee Haw or something. Anything is better than this clunker.
- The Judge
- 28 jul 2000
- Enlace permanente
- elshikh4
- 10 nov 2010
- Enlace permanente
We have seen a lot of films on cable that attempt to repeat the high action films in the theatres but few do as well as this one particularly because it's so well cast. Roy Scheider as President of the United States with a bit of a roving eye and Susan Blakely as his no "b.s." Chief of Staff lock horns in a particularly realistic scene at the top of the film. Wish we could see more of them together. They are powerful opposite each other and Blakely shows her power as an artist. Is there a possibility of another film with these two?
- Sjaff
- 23 jun 2001
- Enlace permanente
A by-the-numbers action thriller elevated by some intriguing situations and nice surprises. There are some unlikely plot contrivances, but these are balanced by (to me) convincing portrayals of the tense scenes that would arise from the 'football' falling into the wrong hands. I also liked the way that the standard shoot-em-up action is balanced with the negotiation scenes. And casting a Hispanic woman as the Vice President - hats off!
- blessed_damosel
- 5 jul 2000
- Enlace permanente
For various reasons happened to be up at the time of the day when this unpromoted and unknown film was put on HBO.
I watched it because there was essentially nothing else on.
It is surprisingly good. I have no idea as to the provenance of it, or anything else about it other than having seen it on the small screen beginning at 4:20 in the morning on a difficult day. And it captured my attention, had a decent plot (OK, some technical errors about the "football," but not those kinds of things about which one ought to care in the context), and functional characters, particularly the Vice President.
When this comes on somewhere that you can see it, do. If you care for thought-provoking stuff about the consequences of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold-War era, at least. But it says much about more than that.
Again, oddly good film to have had no publicity whatsoever, at least that I've ever seen.
I watched it because there was essentially nothing else on.
It is surprisingly good. I have no idea as to the provenance of it, or anything else about it other than having seen it on the small screen beginning at 4:20 in the morning on a difficult day. And it captured my attention, had a decent plot (OK, some technical errors about the "football," but not those kinds of things about which one ought to care in the context), and functional characters, particularly the Vice President.
When this comes on somewhere that you can see it, do. If you care for thought-provoking stuff about the consequences of nuclear weapons in the post-Cold-War era, at least. But it says much about more than that.
Again, oddly good film to have had no publicity whatsoever, at least that I've ever seen.
- Profplum-2
- 22 jul 2000
- Enlace permanente
"Chain of Command," hereby referred to as COC, is one of those sleepers that packs a serious punch. Graced by cinematic stars such as Roy Scheider, Maria Conchita Alonso, Michael Biehn, and Patrick Muldoon, COC is full of action, suspense, and excellent acting. Ric Young, who plays the despotic and sinister character "Fung," gives a stellar and credible performance. Michael Biehn makes a major departure from his stereotypical good guy roles, and serves as a mean-spirited, incorrigible traitor.
If you liked films such as "Escape From New York" and "Executive Decision," I believe you will really enjoy COC. Although it is not a big-budget blockbuster with perks such as gratuitous sex and violence, it must be appreciated for its action and suspense.
If you liked films such as "Escape From New York" and "Executive Decision," I believe you will really enjoy COC. Although it is not a big-budget blockbuster with perks such as gratuitous sex and violence, it must be appreciated for its action and suspense.
- strosstrup
- 2 ago 2003
- Enlace permanente
Michael Connelly (Patrick Muldoon) is a secret service agent assigned to protect president Jack Cahill (Roy Scheider) during a flight on which there is an assassination attempt. The would-be assassin is foiled but an innocent crew member is killed. Connelly has had enough of this work and is moved to 'football duty,' carrying the the briefcase which gives the president control over the whole of America's nuclear arsenal. It must be kept within 40 feet of him at all times and officers guarding it have responsibility only for the briefcase and others protecting it - not the president himself.
The Chinese are stirring up problems, and Cahill has a meeting with a Taiwanese businessman to ask him to act as a go-between. While the meeting is underway, Connelly's team is systematically attacked and taken out. Both the Cahill and the briefcase are now in the hands of rebel forces who intend to unleash US nuclear weapons on Beijing unless they can get favourable terms for Taiwan. Only Connelly remains at large...
The ratings of this film are quite low but this is not any more implausible, or more poorly acted, than a host of other action movies with bigger stars and higher budgets. Actually I think the leads perform well. The lighting is poor but other aspects of filming are perfectly acceptable though the use of slo-mo was a bit random. Underrated action movie.
The Chinese are stirring up problems, and Cahill has a meeting with a Taiwanese businessman to ask him to act as a go-between. While the meeting is underway, Connelly's team is systematically attacked and taken out. Both the Cahill and the briefcase are now in the hands of rebel forces who intend to unleash US nuclear weapons on Beijing unless they can get favourable terms for Taiwan. Only Connelly remains at large...
The ratings of this film are quite low but this is not any more implausible, or more poorly acted, than a host of other action movies with bigger stars and higher budgets. Actually I think the leads perform well. The lighting is poor but other aspects of filming are perfectly acceptable though the use of slo-mo was a bit random. Underrated action movie.
- ogdendc
- 30 may 2013
- Enlace permanente