'Chaos Walking' film review: How to kill a potential YA franchise in a single movie
A planet of men can't keep their innermost thoughts to themselves in the sci-fi adventure 'Chaos Walking' (in theaters March 5 and on premium VOD April 2).
In short: On a dystopian world where there are no women and all the remaining men can hear each other's thoughts, space traveler Viola (Daisy Ridley) crash lands on the planet and is forced to trust Todd (Tom Holland) to help her escape. Demián Bichir, David Oyelowo, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas and Mads Mikkelsen also star.
The best science fiction uses high-concept ideas to tell compelling human stories. The very worst sci-fi gets lost in the story conventions and mired in its own mythology. 'Chaos' is firmly in the latter of sci-fi: a movie that essentially is just a drawn-out, anemic chase sequence - except most of the characters think out loud. This film has virtually no thematic depth at all - it's just pure science fiction and one-dimensional characters.
Todd, played by current 'Spider-Man' actor Holland, ... is just a typical protagonist, and not much more. He's a good guy roped into a bigger adventure - but he's mostly trying to stop himself from loudly and inappropriately proclaiming his creepy crush on Viola. For her part, Ridley doesn't get to do much because Viola is just a character on the run. 'Chaos' is both simple and nearly directionless: some characters want to get their hands on Viola ... and Todd helps her escape them ... for reasons. The explanation: he's a good guy. And they're just running toward nothing specific with only a vague goal in mind.
The weakness of the general plot forces the audience to grasp onto the one thing 'Chaos' seems fixated on: that Holland's character cannot get his inner monologue to shut up. Honestly, the no-internal-monologue schtick gets old pretty quick. The novelty of watching Todd always tipping his hand - flat out broadcasting his inner most thoughts, fears and worries to everyone around him - wears thin. The burden of telegraphing every thought loudly becomes the singular plot convention that 'Chaos' becomes completely fixated on, to the point of relying entirely on the sci-fi gimmick.
This fixation on the film's gimmick comes at the cost of any and all unexplored themes or ideas the movie could have been explored. 'Selma' star David Oyelowo plays a religious zealot ... who is little more than a guy screaming about martyrs and sinners. Nick Jonas portrays a young man whose own father favors Todd more than him -- but this conflict never evolves into anything more and just flatlines as yet another unrealized and unfulfilled potential dramatic conflict that dies on the vine. Bichir and Erivo, who have each received Oscar nominations for previous performances, are cast as ... generally good people who do generally good things, but act as little more than walking/talking plot devices.
Final verdict: Apparently 'Chaos Walking' is adapted from the first of books in a young adult trilogy of novels. Sadly, even a stellar ensemble cast cannot salvage this doomed YA franchise that seems dead on arrival.
Score: 2/5
'Chaos Walking' is in theaters March 5 and on premium VOD April 2. This sci-fi adventure is rated PG-13 for violence and language and has a running time of 109 minutes.
