Chaos Walking

Released 2nd April 2021, Chaos Walking follows Todd Hewitt as he discovers a girl on his dystopian home planet. Inspired by Patrick Ness’ book series, the film is set in a world where every man’s thoughts are spoken through a ‘noise’: something which does not occur with the women. However, once the young girl Viola crash lands in a spaceship, Todd leads her on a journey of trust, survival and belonging. While the concept of the ‘noise’ is executed well on a visual basis, you cannot help but realise that Todd (or any other men) would never have any quiet moments and that the ‘noise’ should be ever present in some capacity: it is not. That said, the ‘noise’ offers a natural alternative to exposition which helps to explain the fantastical world.

Tom Holland manages to deliver a powerful performance of Todd Hewitt; Holland is able to balance the extreme awkwardness Hewitt possesses to Viola while conveying deep sadness in the wake of personal loss, he is easily the standout of the film. Daisy Ridley is good as Viola. She is not overtly great and her character’s ‘depth’ is rather shallow but she gets Viola from A to B so she us fine. Similarly, to Viola, Mads Mikkelsen’s Chief David has little (to no) depth, however, Mikkelsen is able to imbue a strong performance to elevate his weak character to a more memorable stature. The main issue with the characters (minus Todd) is that they are all stock characters e.g., David Oyelowo is the cultist preacher and Nick Jonas is the arrogant prick.

The visual effects are done surprisingly well, the best thing about the effects is that (where possible) most of the film is either shot on-location or the fantasy characters utilise practical costumes and effects. That said, the film also uses CGI for the men’s noise with great success and capability for comedic moments and intriguing action. Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts deliver a serviceable soundtrack which underscores the film well enough, however, it is generally unmemorable. Overall, Chaos Rising is an enjoyable film with a strong protagonist, fun action and serviceable (if not rather shallow) characters.