Chain of Command (2000)

I probably shouldn't label this even as a B movie. It looks like it's shot straight to video. Anyway it's the type of action movies I avoid because there are at least 20-30 things (premise, goofs, plot-holes, bad acting, clichés... you name it) I can't stand about them. However, this one had a couple of pleasant surprises and I can actually recommend it, but in order to assure anyone I'll have to give away at least one spoiler to illustrate just why.If you watched "24" Season 4 you'll be familiar with this type of plot. A ship with US President and his bodyguards on board has been hijacked by Chinese dissidents. Along with the president the "football" (a briefcase with nuclear codes) is also being captured. The only guy to stand up against the gang is our stock hero who accidentally won the upper hand on them. The dissidents however plan not to obtain some kind of ransom but to actually launch US rockets on China (reasoning behind this must be one of the silliest). Will the hero manage to save all in the last minute or whatever is expected in movies of the same vein?WARNING: SPOILERS... Surprisingly he won't... Not completely anyway. In one of the truly amusing moments of this movie (and the C genre at that) both Beijing and Washington are being destroyed by a nuclear strike. This is not the only cliché being broken, but I'll stop here anyhow. The hero does save the day and not even that is done in the usual manner, but I'm not gonna give it away. The point is: with all the usual nonsense thrown in this movie, the decision to remove a couple of predictable clichés that would help faking the suspense is commendable by all standards.

I really think this one was practically as good as most of the 007 films! The acting by all was superb! Former Bond girl, Maria Conchietta Alonso was superb as the Vice Prez! Blond actor William R. Moses was excellent as Phillips! Loved it! This one deserves 5 stars!

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 !

I really enjoyed this film. I have always liked Roy Scheider and he was really good in it. Muldoon did allright even though i don't really like him. It was kinda like a B-version of Die hard. If only they would have had a bigger budget then it would have been a 10. See it!