Chain of Command (2000)

Secret Service agents must retrieve the briefcase allowing the President control of America's nuclear arsenal before massive destruction ensues.

Director:

John Terlesky

Writer:

T.L. Lankford

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Patrick Muldoon, Maria Conchita Alonso

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Scheider	...	President Jack Cahill
Patrick Muldoon	...	Special Agent Michael Connelly
Maria Conchita Alonso	...	Vice President Gloria Valdez
Michael Biehn	...	Craig Thornton
Ric Young	...	Ken Fung
Sung Hi Lee	...	Iris
William R. Moses	...	Agent Gary Phillips
Tom Wright	...	Agent Burke
Philip Tan	...	Wu
Michael Mantell	...	David Lehmann
Byron Field	...	Lt. Southern
John Putch	...	Agent Joe Lambert
Pat Skipper	...	Agent Ellroy
Francis Maikai	...	Ting
Herb Mitchell	...	Admiral Harrington

Storyline

Connelly, a secret service agent whose contempt for the new president's morals makes him unwilling to take a bullet for the guy is transferred to 'football duty'. The football in question is 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. However, during unofficial negotiations with a prominent Chinese businessman both the president and the football are captured.

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Plot Keywords:

secret service | u.s. president | assassination attempt | red china | adultery | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Al servicio del presidente

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinetel Films, Chain of Command Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The shots of the ocean liner blowing up are stock footage from Deep Rising.

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Goofs

The distance traveled by the American and Chinese ICBM's in the final attack changes between shots.

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Connections

Features Deep Rising (1998)

User Reviews

Underrated action movie

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.