The Chain Reaction

Good stuff

A low-budget Australian eco-thriller with a solid premise and some tense moments, but it struggles with pacing and uneven execution, which can make it feel more interesting on paper than fully gripping on screen.

Excellent release overall. The disc looks great, the presentation is strong, and everything arrived safely.

I’ve been hoping this fun movie would receive a release like this for years. The transfer is gorgeous, the film grain looks natural, and everything about the presentation feels respectful of the source material. Worth every penny.

A nuclear plant employee is accidentally showered in radioactive waste and his company wants to hush up the fact the water supply has been contaminated. He escapes and quickly falls under the care of race car driver Larry (Steve Bisley) and his wife Carmel (Arna-Maria Winchester) at their vacation home. Since they are corporate guys, the baddies will stop at nothing to silence the escapee and anyone who helps him. It is THE CHINA SYNDROME with car chases! This one is pretty decent but suffers from a sluggish pace at times and making a straight-forward plot convoluted. There are some nice character touches (the deaf hit-man; Hugh Keays-Byrne's eccentric anti-nuke guy). MAD MAX's George Miller was originally supposed to direct, but didn't. He did do the work on the car chases (uncredited), which are really good but the film could have used more of them. Ian Barry directed and has a good eye and stages some nice shocks. Wish it was more even though. Some guy named Mel Gibson has a two-second cameo.