Synopsis

A young machinist working on a revolutionary clean-energy experiment becomes the target of a deadly conspiracy after the laboratory is destroyed and his colleague is killed. Framed for sabotage and murder, he goes on the run with a scientist who may hold the key to the vanished research. Pursued by federal agents and hired killers, they race to expose the truth.

Factoids & Trivia

• Filming took place from January 8 to April 13, 1996, with major location work in Chicago and nearby Illinois and Wisconsin sites, including Argonne National Laboratory, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Wisconsin State Capitol.

• The production faced severe winter conditions. The drawbridge chase required about a week of night shoots in temperatures ranging from 5 below zero to 20 below zero Fahrenheit.

• The ice hovercraft chase could only be filmed in a limited number of takes because the cold air and high speed made the work especially difficult for the performers.

• The laboratory explosion near the beginning of the film used miniature effects. An abandoned steel factory served as both an interior and exterior filming location for parts of the sequence.

• Brian Cox later recalled that extensive rewrites left some scenes to be filmed from a "beats script," outlining major story points without providing complete dialogue.

• Keanu Reeves had injured his neck and back while playing hockey before production began. The injury affected his physical appearance during filming.

• The film opened in the United States on August 2, 1996, and earned more than $60 million worldwide against a reported production budget of about $50 million.