Chains of Gold

I actually really liked this film not just because i like joey Lawrence but because its about real issues. Joey Lawrence and John Travolta give really good performances, i was never really a fan of Travolta before i saw this film but now i see him as a really talented actor! Also Joey Lawrence gives an excellent performance as the troubled teenager tommy,everyone who still just see's him as that kid from Blossom should see this film, so they can see that there is more to him than his looks and his funny role as Joey Russo!!!Despite the bad reviews this film has had i give this film 8/10 and if you have the chance to see this film take the opportunity!

When Chains of Gold came out is was dismissed as a vanity project. I don't get it. While the film is far from perfect its very well made and has some good performances.

Travolta is sympathetic as hell as Barnes, the social worker.

The supporting cast are good and is stacked with familiar faces and the Miami setting is exotic and adds production value.

The script is never likely to feature on any best of lists, but it gets the job done and the direction is solid and the pacing is fast.

As I said I really don't get the hate. The pic is entertaining and Travolta is always watchable and there's some good action scenes.

Chains of Gold is a fun watch.

Powerful performances and great thrills make this movie one you have to see. If you get the chance to see it, don't pass it up.

John Travolta is social worker Scott Barnes, a person adamant about keeping the kids of some innercity area of California from giving into the rampant drug circles that work the street. He's been working the job for so long, he knows the dealers by name, and they know him.

The job gets personal when a close friend of his, a 13 year old boy named Tommy (Joey Lawrence), starts dealing. Unfortunately, Tommy has already become much more involved in the "Youth Incentive Program," which is the name for the dangerous clan of cocaine dealers that run the area. Travolta figures that he owes it to Tommy to help him, seeing this as an opportunity to redeem himself after having accidentally killed his only son in an accident where Scott was drunk.

Scott, the bold idealist that he is, goes undercover in one of the most dangerous drug rings (which reminds me a lot of Shredder's underground gang from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie), hoping that he can rescue Tommy from their grips before it's too late.

Though the message is good, considering it is a powerful statement especially where kids are messing up their lives in being hooked on this stuff (they run like rats in the daylights to protect their stash) because they're sold on the false philosophy that they'll become filthy rich. Likewise, it illustrates the failures of the system as Scott tries so hard for other government agencies to help him out and put an end to the mess that he's witnessed for so long. But, it does in part seem a little too unrealistic, detracting from the importance of this message somewhat, as Scott, by himself, tries to disguise himself and his motives from a very ruthless leader (Benjamin Bratt) and his even more ruthless gang of drug dealing thugs. When the stakes are high, these guys will do whatever it takes to protect their product and their money. But is Scott able to do much more to protect Tommy?

I'm assuming that John Travolta decided to take things in his own hands at the time of making this movie, seeing that his career was in a slump at the time. I assume that because Travolta is credited as being one of the four screenwriters of this movie. It must have hurt when the finished product was shelved for some time before being dumped directly to cable TV, though I'm pretty confident that the movie wouldn't have done well if it had been released to theaters. It's pretty apparent this was a low budget movie, with such attributes as poor photography and dimly lit sequences. In fact, despite all the swearing, violence, and drug scenes, the movie feels like it was made for TV. The screenplay contains some howlers like interracial gangs, but it's a mostly dull and slow-moving affair. Bernie Casey and Hector Elizondo are good, but there's only so much they can do in their limited roles. As for Travolta, while he's been good in other movies, you wouldn't know it from his performance here. His swearing, getting uppity and saying such things as "How dare you?", crying, and bulging eyes suggest a director who was reluctant to reign him in for some unknown reason. The only reason to see this is to try and figure out how this got re-released (on DVD) a few years ago.