I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

'The Chain Reaction' was made by many of the same actors and crew who made the first - and best - 'Mad Max' movie. Although the IMDb credits don't share too many names, the style, photography and direction are so uncannily similar, that George Miller must've been more involved with 'The Chain Reaction' than just as co-producer. The two films are practically twins. Even the car-chase scenes are alike, which is good.The plot could easily serve as a prequel to Mad Max; an accident at an Austrailian nuke disposal site out in the boonies results in catastrophic radiation leakage which will poison the area's water table. The evil corporation that owns the disposal site is trying to hush up the accident by sealing off the area, but some eco-activists have been in contact with one of the scientists at the site, and they find out about it. The scientist took a huge dose of plutonium during the accident and only has 3 days to live, but hotheaded motorhead dude Larry (played by Steve Bisley - 'The Goose' in 'Mad Max') and his wife get tangled up in the unfolding crisis...Many of the local inhabitants appearing in 'The Chain Reaction' also played similar characters in 'Mad Max'. They don't necessarily play the exact same parts, but it is not a stretch to imagine that after the nuclear catastrophe has devastated their environment, they all evolved into the desperate characters of 'Mad Max'. It appears (to me anyway) that 'The Chain Reaction' was filmed first, since one of the characters seems to say "It's 1977, mate...", but I'm not quite sure about this. The haircuts and clothes are definitely mid-70's, (flared jeans etc) while Mad Max has a later, more punkish late-70's look.

Selfless, compassionate German scientist Heinrich (a deeply sympathetic Ross Thompson), an employee for the nefarious multi-international nuclear power company WALDO, gets fatally contaminated by a radiation leak at one of WALDO's storage facilities in Central Australia. Heinrich escapes from WALDO's pernicious clutches and goes on the lam so he can warn the outside world about the potentially catastrophic repercussions of the toxic spill. Heinrich, slowly dying and suffering from amnesia, seeks shelter and protection from cocky race car driver Larry (the ruggedly likable Steve Bisley) and his caring nurse wife Carol (a wonderfully radiant performance by the leggy, strikingly gorgeous blonde knockout Anna-Maria Winchester). A bunch of WALDO agents, determined to cover up the disaster, relentlessly track Heinrich and the couple down.Basically "The China Syndrome" crossed with a tense, pacy, scarily plausible and tautly streamlined high octane car chase/conspiracy thriller, this extremely exciting and skillfully executed little dilly promptly hurdles along under Ian Barry's firm, strongly focused direction (Barry also wrote the terse, topical, tightly wound script). Russell Boyd's smoothly prowling, polished, often kinetic cinematography, Andrew Thomas Wilson's tinny, noodling, spooky'n'shivery synthesizer score, the shocking brutality of WALDO's corporate goons, the snappy, lightning swift tempo, the cold, gloomy, chilling tone, stunning shots of guys in gleaming white decontamination suits grimly going about their business, the despairing hopelessness of the pitiable Heinrich's wretched plight, and the harsh corporate ruthlessness that the evil, amoral WALDO embodies stoke the film's wired, ambient paranoia to a stirringly high temperature, therefor making for a most excellent and suspenseful nail-biter. Several folks involved with "Mad Max" pop up here: George Miller was an associate producer, Hugh "The Toecutter" Keys-Byrne plays a sadistic WALDO thug, and both Roger Ward and an unshaven Mel Gibson cameo as yahoo mechanics. The heart-pounding, pulse-quickening, blow-the-wheels-off-that-sucker spectacular climactic car chase will make your teeth rattle. A frightfully credible depiction of a disturbingly possible scientific reality.

Interesting eco thriller made in Australia in 1979 that was pipped at the post by THE CHINA SYNDROME almost in release at the same time. Produced by versatile industry go getter David Elfick (NEWSFRONT, STARSTRUCK, UNDERCOVER and Exec Prod on RABBIT PROOF FENCE) The CHAIN REACTION went over very well as a drive in movie for the thinking Mad Max crowd. It even has several of MAX's stars. With great stunt and car chase work and a genuinely believable story set slightly in the future CR will be a fun DVD release if out-takes and interviews are included. It looked terrific on a cinema movie screen and I guess will become an intelligent action staple if you have a big plasma TV at home. Elfick never makes the same movie twice and a scan through his CV on this site will let you access an astonishing range of Ausralian feature films. One is even called AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 WAYS..about fooling blind Dad that he is on a holiday when really he never leaves the street...one The Farrelly Bros should update and remake.

This was a pleasant surprise I caught on cable one day. Opening a year after Mad Max and with 2 actors Steve Bisley and Hugh Keays-Byrne also from Mad Max this little action/thriller is very entertaining. Aussies really know how to put together some great car chases - lots of V8 engine noises and cameras by the wheel, this movie has at least 2 that beat the crap out of several hundred car chases in American movies. The story might be a little far-fetched but nothing that's intolerable. I gave this one an 8/10, without the car chases a 7.