FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW

Review of Chain Reaction (Jerry Goldsmith)

1996 Varèse

2015 Varèse

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you're interested in exploring a slightly more romantic, optimistic, and instrumentally varied take Jerry Goldsmith's concurrently written and otherwise similar Executive Decision.

Avoid it... if any strictly procedural variation on merely average Goldsmith action material fails to compete with the composer's rich library of successful scores in the genre, a 2015 expanded product for this score a laborious experience.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

Chain Reaction: (Jerry Goldsmith) In an attempt to continue the success of the films inspired by the Academy Award-nominated The Fugitive in 1993, Fox's Chain Reaction offered another variation on the good-guy running from a good-natured cop routine. This time, the two primary fugitives are young scientists who are part of a university experiment that successfully yields clean and abundant energy by extracting hydrogen from water. When assassins kill the other scientists and set off an absolutely enormous explosion to destroy their laboratory, the two heroes are framed and accused of murder. Their boss escaped the blast, of course, but as Morgan Freeman could be in a number of circumstances, you're not sure if he's on their side or not. The film takes an interesting concept and compelling group of characters and allows it all to degenerate into a standard chase story, however. The actors really aren't believable in their roles (especially Keanu Reeves, for whom the script had to be re-written to even barely fit), the chases had been largely done before, and aside from the spectacular shockwave scene early in the film, there is little refreshing for the senses in Chain Reaction. It's not surprising that director Andrew Davis was also involved with The Fugitive (and Under Siege, among others), though his choice of composer was not typical for him in this 1996 entry. Collaborating with James Newton Howard for the scores to his films more often than not, Davis has shuffled between several other composers for a one-time pairing. The only collaboration between Davis and Jerry Goldsmith would be for Chain Reaction, a project that suited the veteran composer well at that time in his career due to its balance of humanitarian optimism, science fiction fantasy, and industrial environment. Coming off of a period in the early 1990's when he seemed content writing for films along Joe Dante lines (ridiculous comedies and tender character stories), Goldsmith made a sudden return to extroverted action scoring with Executive Decision and Chain Reaction in consecutive order. Unfortunately for the composer, while trying to escape his rather mundane, seemingly auto-pilot mode, he was unable to recapture a truly aggressively dynamic personality in his action material until later in 1996, when both The Ghost and the Darkness and Star Trek: First Contact proved to be superior ventures in the same general mould. Then again, the quality of the music in all of the aforementioned films seems to have paralleled the quality of the overarching productions themselves.

Goldsmith's supplies music for Chain Reaction that is not radically new but one step ahead of the other production aspects. Much better than in Executive Decision, he formulates a theme for the primary characters and adapts it well throughout the film. The action motifs are very familiar, though, in their staggered rhythmic formations and instrumentation. Goldsmith's normally tingling and slashing electronics are diminished in placement, replaced with a chime-like keyboarding effect and occasional electric guitar. The guitar chips in with performances that represent the always-cool Reeves, a move that wasn't unexpected in the mid-1990's, and Goldsmith pulls it off with the restraint necessary to make it a decent addition to the ensemble. The sensitivity of his themes is foreshadowed in the opening cue and "Open Minds," and this side develops into a full, romantic performance in the highlight finale, "Out of the Hole." A solo trumpet handles the duties of the lonely protagonist. The opening cue offers Goldsmith the opportunity to provide the comprehensive suite of themes for the film at the start instead of the usual end credit placement. After setting the stage well with this opening cue, Goldsmith resorts to standard action procedures for most of the remainder of the film. The detractions from Chain Reaction are the areas in which Goldsmith took identical material and expanded upon it in Executive Decision, including the direct crossover of the trumpet and horn figures identical in both films (and most notably in the meaty "Ice Chase" cue here). Only "Assassins" has a truly unique performance of action ideas in this score, with rambling timpani bursting onto the scene as the initial experiment is invaded and destroyed. A slammed anvil accompanies the electric guitar performance that follows the assassination with great effect, and this, along with a few other sounds, makes a strong pace-setter for the action sequences. Thus, while the brass and strings may be performing the same old usual Goldsmith action structures, there are a few redeeming elements to keep the music somewhat fresh. The last cue saves the score from its dangerous slide towards mediocrity. Overall, Chain Reaction works better than Executive Decision on album partly because of its design and partly because nearly all the major cues in Chain Reaction made its equally short initial album. The most notable exception is the optimistic "A Song/The Observatory" cue that was only included as part of a lengthy expansion on a 2015 Varèse Sarabande Club follow-up. On either album, only devoted Goldsmith collectors will likely find merit in repeated listens to this score, especially when compared to the composer's rich library of similarly conceived material.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

1996 Varèse Album:
Total Time: 30:58

• 1. Meet Eddie (4:52) • 2. Assassins (5:16) • 3. Open Minds (2:46) • 4. Ice Chase (5:49) • 5. No Solution (2:41) • 6. System Down (2:27) • 7. Open Door (3:12) • 8. Out of the Hole (3:31)

---

2015 Varèse Album:
Total Time: 75:15

• 1. Meet Eddie (4:53) • 2. Open Minds (2:47) • 3. Invaders (1:04) • 4. Too Late (2:28) • 5. Aftermath (1:12) • 6. Questions (1:45) • 7. Can't Stay (1:44) • 8. Visitors /The Meeting (4:25) • 9. Be Safe (5:52) • 10. A Song/The Observatory (2:40) • 11. Getting There/C Systems (4:15) • 12. Ice Chase (5:52) • 13. The Old House (2:50)

• 14. Assassins (5:44) • 15. The Museum (4:01) • 16. Sardines and Crackers (1:05) • 17. Lily and Chen/Eddie (1:29) • 18. The Number/Deeper In (2:19) • 19. No Solution (2:48) • 20. My Job/The Deal (1:42) • 21. Well Done (2:02) • 22. System Down (2:28) • 23. On Your Way (1:50) • 24. Inside the Plant (2:01) • 25. Open Door (Extended) (3:18) • 26. Out of the Hole (3:35)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert of the 1996 album includes notes by both the producer and director about the score and film. That of the 2015 product features even more extensive information.

Copyright © 1996-2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Chain Reaction are Copyright © 1996, 2015, Varèse Sarabande, Varèse Sarabande and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 10/31/96 and last updated 11/14/15.