Chain of Command

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 !

This is another action movie with a lot of things, I have seen in several other B movies. There is nothing new you can see there. A lot of action and simple story. Another B version of Die Hard.

One good thing on it is, that this is well acted in comparison with other similar films.

Incredibly bad film that got B-movie written all over it. Overlong, boring and most of the cast delivers bad performances. Including Michael Biehn and he is the only reason I rented this piece of crap. Its stealing from Airforce One and its not working. And its completely ridicoulus that the president would ever be allowed to be alone without secret service agents to protect him. That would never happen in real life. Stupid movie!!

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.

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!