User reviews

This film was complete trash, but in a good way. I've always looked upon Cuba Gooding Jnr as a semi decent actor but if this is the kind of film he is going to be starring in, then I can see him descending the same way as Charlie Sheen.

You can see from the outset that the makers tried to make one of those high octane action thrillers, which are ten-a-penny these days. But when you've got a budget that would struggle to finance an episode of quantum leap, then maybe making a film of this kind wasn't such a good idea.

They make use of computer graphics in a lot of the action scenes which, to be honest, doesn't look the worst I have ever seen, but still prompts you to snicker at how bad it is. The most ridiculous of which occurs at the end of the movie, when a chemical weapon which we have been told has the power to blow up basically a quarter of America, detonates in a tunnel.

At this point we are subjected to rotten computer graphics which are so bad that I instantly had flashbacks of Dean Stockwell and the film-making atrocity that was the Langoliers.

But the story is complete nonsense, so even with a budget the size of Lord of the Rings, there would be no way of making the whole thing believable anyway. So you can perhaps see where the producer was coming from i.e. lets make a cheap action thriller and we'll plaster Cuba Gooding's face over the front cover and we'll maybe make some money.

It would've have been better if Eric Roberts had been given the leading role.

A scientist (David Paymer) develops a biological lethal weapon and accidentally kills eighteen soldiers in an island during the tests. Colonel Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth) is the commander and becomes the scapegoat of the incident. He is sentenced to go to the prison for ten years. Along this period, he becomes unbalanced and decides to get the bomb to sell to terrorists. He commands a group of mercenaries to steal the bomb from the base where Dr. Richard Long is researching. He shots the scientist but he flees with the weapon to the convenience store where the clerk Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich) and an ice-cream trucker driver Arlo(Cuba Gooding Jr.) are negotiating. Mason receive this weapon from the injured Dr. Richard Long, with an advice to keep it below 50 F. they try to reach a military fort and try to escape from the colonel's team that is hunting them down.

"Chill Factor" is not a bad film; indeed it is slightly above average for this type of action movie. There are some terrible cuts of the scenes in the edition and the egocentric Arlo is annoying most of the time. The deceptive conclusion makes this film forgettable. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Suando Frio" ("Sweating Cold")

Note: On 02 October 2015, I saw this film again.

There's only one reason to watch "Chill Factor", and that's Peter Firth (Colonel Andrew Brynner) and his bunch of totally useless elite commandos / terrorists.

The plot is awful, the dialogue is terrible, and it makes you wince to think that Cuba Gooding Jnr once won an Oscar. However, this movie contains some of the most useless bad guys you've ever seen .

Laugh out loud as one chap abseils into the path of a moving van, whilst another rides his motorbike into the grill of an oncoming truck. Grab your sides as Peter Firth delivers line after line of hilarious empty threats, movie clichés, and, in some cases, complete and utter rubbish.

The movie lacks pace (apart from a nicely done initial disaster) and has no idea which genre it belongs to. Is it a bad action movie, a send up, or a comedy buddy movie? Who knows? What I do know is that Peter Firth realised he was making an absolute stinker of a movie and took the opportunity to ham-it-up to the max. He's a serious contender for worst movie bad guy ever, who clearly recruits his goons from the school for the seriously challenged.

Watch out for his numerous attempts to steal best movie leer from John Voight in Anaconda!

I loved this movie. Of course, I like any movie that is packed with action, but is not so serious, that your depressed halfway through the movie. This movie portrayed a pair of undesirables stuck together in a, "wrong place at the wrong time" kind of situation which made them into heros.

Is this realistic? Absolutely not! But was it entertaining? Most definitely! The humor in this movie is what made it good. If they had tried to make this into some kind of serious drama, it probably would have flopped. Thankfully they didn't try that. This movie gets an A+ from me.

This 3rd rate action adventure guy flick will probably set Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s career back about 10 years. This film is basically a variation on `Speed' where instead of keeping the bus above 50 mph, they had to keep the unstable chemical warfare bomb below 50 degrees.

Two regular guys (actually two screw ups) must save the world from a group of rogue military mercenaries who are trying to steal a potent chemical weapon and sell it on the open market. The chemical is unstable above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and will explode stripping the skin from any living creature within a hundred miles. Our heroes must get this doomsday weapon to the nearest army base armed only with a broken down ice cream truck and a pistol with no ammo. The half a dozen bad guys are all have elite military background, the latest in electronic equipment, souped up SUV's, and an arsenal of advanced weaponry. Predictably, the mercenaries are no match for our screw ups.

This film is one big chase scene that takes implausibility to new heights of incredulity. The dialogue between Arlo (Gooding) and Tim (Skeet Ulrich) is mindless tripe that attempts to be funny but merely makes the characters seem pathetic. This is consistent with all the writing in this screenplay which is mostly hack.

As far as I can tell, this is Hugh Johnson's debut as a first line feature director, having mostly done assistant and second unit direction and cinematography. In this regard he fails to distinguish himself. His camera work was pedestrian and scene selection was pretty much stock for the genre. The first third of the film was shot with a blue filter, to get a dark look. The odd thing was, he kept the blue filter for the indoor shots and subsequent daytime shots. This indiscriminate use of the filter, rather than creating an effect just made the entire film look washed out. Then suddenly, he abandoned it entirely. On a plus note, the stunts and pyrotechnics were handled well as were the special effects when the chemical weapon test went awry at the beginning of the film. There were some effective moments of suspense like when they tried to take the oversized ice cream truck past the narrow road on the cliff.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. did his best to bring life to a very insubstantial character. He was witty and energetic as always but there was no saving Arlo. Skeet Ulrich was utterly bland as Tim Mason. David Paymer was decent as the arrogant scientist who's ambition for his work exceeded the limits of prudent science. Peter Firth was dreadful as the evil Captain Brynner, leader of the rogue soldiers.

All in all, this film was a loser. I gave it a 3/10. For guys who want a good beer buzz movie while the wife and kids are out of town, this might be okay. Otherwise steer clear.

The whole plot was tired and foolish, must of us know that. I myself happen to like cheesy and stupid action movies. Cuba was funny, as I thought he might be, even Skeet turned out to have slight humor in his bones. This is one of those movies where two guys hate each other at first, but end up becoming the best of pals. If you like dumb jokes, and asinine plots, you'll LOVE this movie!

I am not a huge fan of Cuba Gooding Jnr, but enjoyed his performance in Radio, and as all actors put in the occasional good performance, I thought I'd give this fim a go. It was awful. The plot would belong better in an episode of Starsky & Hutch, the villain was (unfortunatly) badly played by Peter Firth, who I enjoyed in the TV series 'The battle for Rome'. Hugh Johnson directed this flick, and this is his one and only attempt, and since this he's gone back to cinematography where he firmly belongs. The plot is thin, obvious and not entertaining. The action sequences are poorly put together and edited so badly it hurts to watch. It's not an action picture, it's definitely not a comedy, but it trys to be both, and fails. I felt the acting was restricted by the director, who is ultimately to blame for this appalling film. All in all, a waste of a Tuesday morning off work!!!!

Skeet Ulrich and Cuba Gooding Jr. once started out their careers as promising new actors, Gooding Jr. had even already won an Oscar at the time of this movie. I have however always regarded this movie as the sort of turning points in their careers, as it's simply a very bad genre movie, with a lame concept and a story that borrows too much from much better other genre movies.

It's not just its concept that makes this movie bad, it's just the overall execution of it all as well. For an action movie it simply isn't a very good one, not in the least because it also borrows heavily from other movies and just isn't original enough on its own to really add anything. The movie is like "Speed" meets "Die Hard" meets "The Rock" and than some movies thrown in the mix with it.

No, I didn't really enjoyed watching this movie, even though the movie obviously got aimed toward it to bring some entertainment, by also adding a dose of comedy to the movie. Gooding Jr. has just never really been my favorite comedy actor and Skeet Ulrich just doesn't fit this genre. The movie tries to be like a buddy flick, in which two totally different mismatched persons just by chance end up with each other, running from a couple of bad guys who want to have a new deadly chemical weapon that detonates when it reaches temperatures over 50 degrees. Luckilly Gooding Jr. is an ice cream truck driver. This already should provide you a troubling image of how this entire movie is being like.

Seems amazing to me in the first place that they decided to turn this concept into a movie. Its concept alone was reason for people to not go and see this movie, which made this movie an instant flop already, far before it had been released. And why some of the actors within this movie actually agreed to be in it is perhaps an even more strange thing. The movie does have some big names in it, next to Ulrich and Gooding Jr., such as David Paymer and Peter Firth.

A movie that is as bad as its concept.

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Over the past few months, I've been taken in by some movies that have been deemed 'cinematic masterpieces' by some. I've also had the 'pleasure' of watching TV-movies that can be found at the bottom of the bargain bin in some video stores.

This movie is neither. It is not a 10/10 movie masterpiece, nor is it a bargain-bin, third-rate, C-list, avoid-at-all-costs tape. It sits right in the middle of the spectrum. It is watchable and entertaining, yet not exactly worthy of the Oscar or Golden Globe awards. It was action-packed, fun to watch and a great way to spend a Saturday night at home, either by yourself or others.

Out of ten, I give this film a 7. It lost 3 points for the somewhat hollow acting, but still, it was a fun movie, if you don't take it seriously.

This film practically gobbles, it's so bad. At one point, I though it might even tip over to a parody of the thriller genre, but the funniest parts were unintentional. Cliches and unlikely, even impossible plot points and lack of continuity abounded. I realize the script was probably a first effort by a pair of 20-something boys, but these boys aren't even remotely clever. They shouldn't be allowed near a word processor (or better yet, a pitch meeting) ever again, at least not without adult supervision. And may the equally untalented director be similarly rewarded.

Cuba Gooding, who can be wonderful, was so hammy, he resembled Stephin Fetchit at several points. This was the first time I'd seen Skeet Ulrich, and he's a cute Johnny Depp lookalike, the perfect bookend for the Sharon Stone clone in one of the few female roles. David Paymer, who is usually a talented actor, has a grueling death scene in this that is unintentionally as funny as some of Bruce Vilanch's work.

I'm certain this film was created with the special effects first (gratuitous violence, literal cliffhangers, and things blowing up) and then a storyline was sketched out to incorporate this unlikely series of events. The plot, such as it is, involves a deadly substance, developed by the Paymer character, that Ulrich and Gooding, as two ordinary guys, are trying to keep out of the hands of the bad guys, a highly trained paramilitary group.

Unfortunately, I suspect this film will do fine at the box office, as some in the audience seemed to find it more entertaining than I did. While not my favorite genre, I like decent action thrillers (e.g. Escape from Alcatraz), and audience acceptance of dreck like this makes it even more difficult for more challenging films to get produced and released.

I originally saw on HBO a few years ago now it's on Starz which I have for a couple months. Quite a thrilling kind of disturbing yet funny in some parts especially when Skeet and Cuba are together. Love the line "I am destroyer of worlds"! Odd the few times I watched this I barely got sleep one of those easy to chill in bed types pun intended; great how well written it is. Peter Firth is one of the best villain actors in my opinion!

Don't you just love it when you're channel surfing to pass the time, end up watching a film you've never heard of and discover a forgotten gem? This is one of those movies, an action flick with tongue firmly placed in cheek that is very much in the vein of Con Air with its sense of humour.

The plot is basically one part road movie, one part 'Speed' and two parts 'The Rock,' as two blue-collar losers in the shape of Skeet Ulrich and Cuba Gooding Jr find themselves in possession of a top secret military chemical weapon that will detonate and kill millions of people if its temperature exceeds 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Pursued by a renegade military General, the duo set off against all odds to return the weapon to the nearest secure outpost, but there's a hitch; they have to cross the desert to do so.

It may be more Renny Harlin than William Shakespeare in its premise, but the end result is a riotous hour and thirty minutes worth of entertainment. Skeet and Cuba make for a great on screen pair, their bickering providing plenty of laughs and one liners, while Peter Firth is brilliant as the scenery-chewing villain. What makes it even more fun, is that unlike its contemporaries, the two lead characters are utterly hapless. They are just a pair of ordinary guys thrust into a situation beyond their control rather than muscle-clad, indestructible body-builders or Kung Fu experts and they only really survive unscathed by bumbling through the fight scenes.

You can tell the cast are having a great time and in all honesty, Cuba Gooding Jr seems to be enjoying himself so much it's a surprise he doesn't grin like a cheshire cat throughout the whole movie. So get some beers in, get your mates round, switch your brain off and check it out, its a really enjoyable film.

This one sucked. I mean, I can see the appeal of a plain-jane action movie, but this one has been coughed up from the phlegmatic lungs of hundreds of other action movies. Every single damned line in the whole thing was a big cliche. For God's sake, Cuba Gooding, Jr. at one point says, "When this is over, remind me to kick your ass." Raise your hands if you've heard that one before. Skeet Ulrich, I liked. Cuba Gooding, Jr., I didn't. The only line he delivers that I liked was the same one that everyone has heard a hundred times in the advertisements, so, I was ready for it. AVOID.

This is a total paint-by-numbers job that is devoid of brains, originality or believability. Every element of it has already been done to death many times over. Interracial male bonding buddy movie? Check. Road movie? Check. Rogue military bad guys? Check. Pseudo-scientific BS? Check.

I really can't imagine what Cuba Gooding was doing in this throwaway effort when he can have his pick of roles. Especially playing second fiddle to Skeet Ulrich, who was reasonably good in the TV series Jericho but is not exactly an A-lister. And Gooding's role was annoyingly formulaic as the hyper, wise-cracking black guy. The bad guys, the country sheriff etc. were likewise straight from central casting.

There was a fairly good chase scene, but I'm glad I didn't pay money to watch this movie.

I went to see this movie based on the pretty good track record of

Gooding jr . Well I must say it was a bitter disappointment. Not that

Gooding didn't do his stuff, but the dialogues we're sooooooo

incredibly stale. Every cliche in the book is there. The story is flimsy and holds no surprises whatsoever. My advice:

Skip this one!

In spite of several clichés and improbable scenes, the movie was not boring or annoying to watch - thanks to Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Arlo, Peter Firth as Andrew Brynner, and David Paymer as Dr. Richard Long, above all (Skeet Ulrich as Tim Mason was uninviting to me). Perhaps not worth for a cinema visit, but rather good in front of TV screen with a (male) company - and I find it better than most of movies with Norris, Seagal or Dudikoff. Chill Factor is a mediocre A-movie, but outperforms most of good B-movies; that is why I find that the viewers have been too harsh and critical towards it. Fortunately or unfortunately, film-makers like Tarantino, Schumacher, The Coen Brothers, Scott etc have no monopoly on making action movies.

It angers me to see a movie like this, 'cause there are so many good scripts out there waiting to be written or have been written already but are considered not crowd-pleasing enough. Then Hollywood comes with this horrible piece of movie not worth the celluloid it is printed on.

The story was so incredibly boring, the supposed "jokes" were not remotely funny, acting was horrendous. Why does Warner or any other studio for that matter keep making these movies, for the money I guess and that's not a good basis for using the incredible cinema medium.

Horrendous, stupid, a waste of your money.

2/10

(I give it a 2 for the effort.)

i went into this movies, expecting the worst - and i was suprised. both cuba gooding and skeet ulrich put in good performances, even if they aren't oscar quality - i did enjoy it and w/ the help of cuba gooding, laughed alot!!! :)

if you have an afternoon to kill. This will not go down as one of Cuba Gooding's better venues. The plot is recognizable; the character's not quite believable. The heroes might have saved Montana, it's unfortunate they couldn't save this movie!

Good action flick about regular guys turned defenders of the American people. Cuba Gooding is great as an excitable type, while Skeet Ulrich is the cool one. Once the story is set up, the action is non stop with a lot of "Edge of your seat" scenes. Cuba & Skeet deliver some good comedy lines to take a bit of the edge off the intensity of this film. Their relationship as friends grows throughout the movie so it gives you a good feeling & brings some believability to how they react to each other in tough situations. If you like fast, hard hitting action with a bit of humor thrown in, this movie is for you!

Roger Ebert said something similar to this film being "cliché in every way". I'm surprised he singled this one out for that rebuke because 50% of new movies are all clichés too.

We enjoyed this movie, in the comfort of our home. (Seldom is there a movie that seems worth the theater ticket price anymore.)

The action plot starts right away. No long character buildup or explanations about why they do the things they do, because it wasn't necessary. What little explanation is given is done throughout the movie, and its enough.

I've forgotten most of the characters' names, because they aren't important either. Our heros are Arlo the ice cream man and "Night Shift" who works at the food stop. They aren't friends but circumstances throw them together. Eventually they figure out it's work together or die. They have to transport a very deadly bomb to the right people while absolutely always keeping it under 50 degrees. (Kinda like "Speed" on ice!) They have some entertaining bad guys tracking and chasing them, attempting to take the bomb and sell it to the highest bidder. I think that sums up what to expect from the plot of this movie, and I mean that in a good way. If you like that kind of movie, which we do on a lazy Friday or Saturday night at home, you won't be disappointed.

The acting was fine (Cuba Gooding Jr. Seldom disappoints!), a minimum of plot holes, good continuity, good scenery.

This ranks at about 4 on my worst 10 list. The movie suffers because there is really no character development. It's like were put in a middle of an action movie with bad guys chasing good guys and thats it. Capt. Andrew Brynner's transformation into an evil character literally takes place in just under 5 seconds where we see a shot of him going into a prison and coming out 10 years later. We see major characters that have a great effect on the movie like Colonel Vitelli midway through the movie without any explanation other then that he served with Brynner. The movie suffers and several cliches are thrown out just for the sake of it since this can be classified as one of those monotonous action movies without any flare to it.