Film Review: "Chaos Walking" (2021).

"No one escapes the noise" in Chaos Walking. This dystopian action film directed by Doug Liman, adapted by Patrick Ness and Christopher Ford and based on Ness' 2008 YA novel The Knife of Never Letting Go, the first instalment of his YA sci-fi trilogy Chaos Walking. In the not-too-distant future, Todd Hewitt discovers Viola, a mysterious girl who crash lands on his planet, where all the women have disappeared and the men are afflicted by "the Noise" – a force that puts all their thoughts on display. In this dangerous landscape, Viola's life is threatened – and as Todd vows to protect her, he will have to discover his own inner power and unlock the planet's dark secrets.

In October 2011, Lionsgate acquired the film rights for an adaptation of Ness's YA sci-fi trilogy. In 2012, Lionsgate then hired Charlie Kaufman to write the first draft of the screenplay. Jamie Linden, Lindsey Beer, Gary Spinelli, John Lee Hancock, Christopher Ford and Ness himself would later revise Kaufman's draft. In 2013, Deadline reported that Robert Zemeckis was being considered as the director before Liman was hired to direct in early June 2016. In early August, it was reported that Daisy Ridley joined the cast as Viola. In late November, Tom Holland joined the cast to play Todd. By late August 2017, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas and David Oyelowo rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, with a budget of $85 million, principal photography commenced and wrapped in mid November. Filming took place in Montréal, Québec, Canada. In April 2018, it was reported that the film was scheduled to have several weeks of reshoots in late 2018 or early 2019, following poor test screenings. Owing to Ridley's filming commitments to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Holland's to Spider-Man: Far From Home, the reshoots were not able to commence until mid April 2019, with Fede Álvarez directing them. These reshoots took place in Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped in early May, added an additional $15 million to the film's budget, bringing the total cost to $100 million. The film was originally scheduled for a March 1, 2019 release date, but it was delayed to accommodate the film's reshoots. It was then scheduled for a January 22, 2021 release date, but was delayed again to March 5, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The film stars Ridley, Holland, Mikkelsen, Bichir, Erivo, Jonas and Oyelowo. Despite Holland and Ridley's charmingly youthful screen presence, they comes across as an irritating children whose fascination with each other seems to start and end with the fact that they are a boy and a girl. Mikkelsen doesn't fare much better.

The film is a disappointment as a premise with much promise has been turned into a bland retread through YA's most familiar faults - despite some bold efforts from Holland, Ridley and Mikkelsen. It is a hot mess that throws a wet blanket of dystopian drivel over fresh young stars. 'Chaos Limping' is a more suitable title.

Simon says Chaos Walking receives:

Also, see my review for Locked Down.