After featuring in a number of TV programs, stage productions, commercials, and short films, Keanu Reeves’ Hollywood journey took off with the 1986 sports drama Youngblood. Having his big break in the sci-fi comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, he continues starring in romantic comedies and dramas until the 1991 crime action Point Break. His performance in the movie led director Jan de Bont to cast him as the lead in the 1994 movie Speed. It was a critical and commercial success and also resulted in Reeves being offered versatile roles.
Hollywood star Keanu Reeves
One of his following action movies also included Andrew Davis’ Chain Reaction, which featured him alongside Rachel Weisz and Morgan Freeman. And the Black Widow actress opened up about the hardships of filming the 1996 movie as she shared her experience starring alongside the John Wick star.

Struggles of Filming the 1996 Keanu Reeves Starrer

Keanu Reeves starred alongside the Marvel star Rachel Weisz and Morgan Freeman in the 1996 sci-fi action thriller, Chain Reaction. The movie follows Eddie Kasalivich and Lily Sinclair as they try to find the truth behind the murder of a high-profile scientist. It failed at the box office, making only $60 million on a budget of $50 million.
Rachel Weisz and Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996)
And despite their hard work and everything the cast and crew went through, the movie was still a “big disappointment” to critics. Rachel Weisz, who plays Lily Sinclair in the movie, shared about filming in extremely cold weather. The movie was filmed in and around Chicago, Illinois.

Filming became especially hard due to the cold Great Lakes winter. The Mummy star opened up about filming in the cold weather during an interview. She said that they filmed in -40 degrees, which felt like “falling through a frozen lake,” as they went on 80 miles an hour to film the chase across the icy lake.
Chain Reaction (1996)
“You get wind burn on your face, frostbite, lips get so numb, you can’t talk,” she further shared. The actress also said that it felt like losing all the sensations in her body. Her co-star Morgan Freeman also opened up about the difficulties of filming in extremely cold weather as he shared that he got ill and was in bed for four days.

Keanu Reeves Revealed Chain Reaction Script Changes

Chain Reaction failed commercially and critically and has been considered one of the failures of Keanu Reeves. And followed by its release, the action star also admitted that the movie was a “stinker.” However, he believed that it would have been much better with its original script.
Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996)
Reeves shared that he considers the plot and his character in the movie rather than what its commercial value would be. And he did the same while signing up for the 1996 movie. However, he later came to know that the final draft was much different than what he was told.

“Originally, I was married. I had this kid, and I did this research, and I didn’t know that what I was researching had this effect,” he shared. The Matrix star shared that the script of the film was changed, making him the 24-year-old machinist. When he questioned Andrew Davis about the same, the director told him that it was better than the original story.

Chain Reaction is available on Prime Video.