Chill Factor

Pairing Gooding and Ulrich, tyro director Johnson's black/white buddy actioner peddles so much hokum it's a shame that the language and odd bit of gore preclude a younger audience. A vengeful army major (Firth) allows a disastrous last-minute change of formula in a boffin's weapons research, and is sent down for a stretch, only to emerge, satanically lit, announcing: 'I'm ready!' Which is more than the script team was when this got the green light. They make the boffin (Paymer) mentor to Ulrich, a café night-shift worker, and then have him steal his own chemical sample, dying on the café floor with Firth close behind. Johnson served his apprenticeship on Tony Scott movies, so it's a surprise the action scenes are pedestrian. Nor could you say Ulrich and Gooding hit it off. But the atmosphere is winning, with the odd felicity peppering the journey with gags and groans. Montana looks good, too.