Chaos Walking – A Starpower-Led Sci-Fi Adventure Film (Early Review)

There has perhaps been no other recent film with a history as troubled as Chaos Walking. Faced with countless delays for reshoots as a result of the high demand of its stars, Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, the film is set for a theatrical release (whatever that means nowadays) over 2 years after its original release date of March 1st, 2019. Is the film worth the wait? Do we still care about it? The latter may be a harder question to answer though unlike many recent films suffering the same circumstances, Artemis Fowl and The New Mutants, this one surprisingly works quite well and was a blast to watch thanks to its aforementioned stars and their great chemistry. That being said, it’s not a perfect film by any means, not that every film has to be. However, one can’t help but what wonder how the film evolved both narratively and technically on the way to becoming the version that is about to be released (though the reshot sections are pretty evident).

Based on the book series by Patrick Ness (who also co-wrote the script), Chaos Walking takes place in a not-too-distant future where a young man named Todd (Holland) stumbles across a girl named Viola (Ridley) who crash landed on his planet under mysterious circumstances. Little did she know, Todd’s planet saw all the women disappear while the men were affected by “Noise” a supernatural force that put men’s thoughts on display. As Viola’s life is put in jeopardy, Todd vowed to protect her which thrust these two relative strangers on a perilous mission across the planet’s dangerous landscape evading those who deemed her a threat. Living a sheltered life most of his life, it wasn’t until his time with Viola that Todd’s eyes were truly opened as he was faced with the real world. Viola saw a challenge in trusting someone’s whose inner thoughts were on constant display. Their evolving relationship over the course of the film was fun to watch. Never having met a girl before created some awkward moments for Todd which admittedly got old fast but as he and his confidence grew, that awkwardness became assertiveness.

Though Chaos Walking could have certainly used more character development overall to make the story and its messaging even more impactful (beyond the implications in the film’s premise), that’s merely a minor issue as it already moves at a brisk enough pace to the point where it’s barely noticeable. In the end, the story was about Todd and Viola’s journey and for that, it delivered. Sure, it could have used more but more would have hurt that pace. What could have used work was the other side of the equation as an underdeveloped villain took the wind out of the sails of the film’s slow burn mystery that wasn’t really that much of a mystery, unravelling in a rather predictable way. Despite this, the film was still an exciting watch that leaned more towards adventure than action as Todd and Viola trekked through the beautiful Montreal, Quebec area wilderness masquerading as an alien planet. Meanwhile, the epic score was also served as a boost to the film’s many thrilling set pieces.

Ultimately, the best part of Chaos Walking was the great performances of Holland and Ridley as Todd and Viola. Due to the nature of the story, the film essentially rests on their shoulders and thankfully, they deliver. Holland delivers a nuanced and vulnerable performance as a young man coming to his own under tough circumstances, bringing some depth to a thin character. In spite of an even thinner character hurt by too much of a male perspective, Ridley brought some energy to the role. Their dynamic chemistry made for a compelling dynamic that was fun to watch as they got tested in more ways than one over the course of the film. Besides Holland and Ridley, Mikkelsen brought his patented charm to Mayor Prentiss while David Oyelowo brought plenty of camp to the unnecessary character of Aaron.

At the end of the day, Chaos Walking is a fun little adventure that maybe isn’t worth the hype but is a nice departure for Holland and Ridley.

still courtesy of Lionsgate

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.