Chaos Walking, the film adaptation of Patrick Ness’ novel The Knife of Never Letting Go, is one of those rare films with a maligned history more fascinating than the sum of its parts. Numerous directors, actors and writers have been attached over the years, and extensive reshoots were done after the original cut completed; it was constantly pushed back for one reason or another. But, now, it’s finally out for the world to see.
Sadly, the result is – as you’d expect from a film with such a checkered production – pretty lacklustre. It’s a shame too considering the strength of the source material. A dystopian world in which men think out loud (quite literally as every thought can not only be heard but seen) and women are mysteriously absent makes for a fascinating conceit. But when Todd (Tom Holland) meets Viola (Daisy Ridley) – a girl harbouring secrets about the land – he starts to discover that there may be more to ‘the Noise’ than he first anticipated.
A script, at one time, penned by Charlie Kaufman; action connoisseur Doug Liman at the helm; Ridley and Holland, hot off their Disney fame, starring together; a cool YA concept. All the ingredients are there for Chaos Walking to succeed; at the very least, it should be a fascinating enough hodgepodge to watch. But it’s neither awful nor great. It lingers in-between, in a stage of ‘just kinda dull’ – which is far more disappointing and uneventful to watch. Where the film falters is in visualising ‘the Noise’; it’s what makes Ness’ novel so unique and, on paper, it really adds a lot to the narrative but it’s not the easiest concept to bring into live-action filmmaking and Liman’s execution doesn’t do enough with it to make it work. What should be an interesting angle for character and story feels like a trite method of exposition.
Then there’s the fact that Chaos Walking feels about a decade too late. It’s trying too hard to fit into a genre that thrived in the 2010s – a spiritual successor, of sorts, to the likes of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. The clichés are shop-worn and the tropes don’t do a lot to elevate the source material here. You’ve seen it all a million times before and, despite a very surreal premise, Chaos Walking offers nothing new. It’s certainly nice to see Holland and Ridley share the screen and the pair turn in competent enough work. The script is just one-dimensional though and can’t make sense of its grand ideas enough. The result is a film that is as mawkish and messy as they come; some decent action and a competent ensemble keep it watchable enough but, considering the potential of this world, Chaos Walking really should not be this mawkish.
Chaos Walking is available on premium rental channels from 2nd April.
Chaos Walking
Summary
As mawkish and messy as they come but some decent action and a competent ensemble keep it watchable enough.
