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Instant Favorite.

Admirable film.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I caught this routine, cliché ridden, action pic that rips off most action movies you have seen before, on TV last night, and in the absence of anything else on, I decided to give it a go since Roy Scheider can always be relied upon for a good performance, even if the movies themselves are not of the highest standard.What makes Chain of Command more interesting than the average action flick is good old Roy's President who seems clearly modelled on Bill Clinton and his womanising. The opening has him eyeing up his friends new wife while she plays tennis, and then it cuts to two Secret Service Men guarding a toilet door as Scheider has sex with her. One of them is Patrick Muldoon and he is the hero of the movie. He is dull, lifeless and is an awful actor. Scheider simply acts him off the screen every scene they share. Michael Beihn pops up as a nasty piece of work and he too does the same!!It has a little bit of a surprise ending, but it's nothing original

Michael Connelly (Patrick Muldoon) is a secret service agent assigned to protect president Jack Cahill (Roy Scheider) during a flight on which there is an assassination attempt. The would-be assassin is foiled but an innocent crew member is killed. Connelly has had enough of this work and is moved to 'football duty,' carrying the the briefcase which gives the president control over the whole of America's nuclear arsenal. It must be kept within 40 feet of him at all times and officers guarding it have responsibility only for the briefcase and others protecting it - not the president himself.The Chinese are stirring up problems, and Cahill has a meeting with a Taiwanese businessman to ask him to act as a go-between. While the meeting is underway, Connelly's team is systematically attacked and taken out. Both the Cahill and the briefcase are now in the hands of rebel forces who intend to unleash US nuclear weapons on Beijing unless they can get favourable terms for Taiwan. Only Connelly remains at large...The ratings of this film are quite low but this is not any more implausible, or more poorly acted, than a host of other action movies with bigger stars and higher budgets. Actually I think the leads perform well. The lighting is poor but other aspects of filming are perfectly acceptable though the use of slo-mo was a bit random. Underrated action movie.

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 !

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsChain Of Command is worth renting to pass the time as an action movie.Roy Scheider is well cast as a measly,self serving US president,the plot is pleasantly arousing and intricate,and this must be the most boner inducing Chinese chick I've ever seen.The dialogue is cliched and smelly,but luckily,I was expecting this in a movie like this.This movie holds your attention well,and should be observed for it.***