5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 2.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A dystopian world where there are no women and all living creatures can hear each others' thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise.
Starring: Tom Holland (X), Daisy Ridley, Demián Bichir, David Oyelowo, Kurt SutterSci-Fi | 100% |
Coming of age | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Considering some of the patently odd non disc swag Lionsgate Films kindly sent along with the Blu-ray disc currently under review, you might think this film could have very well been better titled Walking Chaos, at least if Chaos were the name of a dog, since among the accoutrements Lionsgate sent were a roll of "doggie clean up bags" housed in a little white plastic bone and a portable water dish. Now, there is a dog in Chaos Walking, but its name is Manchee, and while there are certain elements at play that make this a kind of weird (canine?) sibling to A Boy and His Dog, especially with regard to quasi-telepathic communication, Chaos Walking uses the pet as an adjunct to its main tale (tail?) rather than as a focal element. Chaos Walking was culled from a trilogy of so-called "Young Adult" books by Patrick Ness, who rather interestingly co-scripted the feature film. But a perhaps kind of snarky dismissal of contributions to the screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (who evidently left the production over "creative differences") made by director Doug Liman in a making of supplement included on this disc as a bonus feature indicates as well as anything that the aforementioned "focal element" was up for debate among the collaborators, leading to a kind of, well, chaotic viewing experience. The most perplexing thing about this adaptation, especially since Ness was evidently heavily involved, is just how much redaction has taken place, and how many things have been rejiggered, not necessarily for the better, in the film version, from the original source novels, at least insofar as I have been able to discern by reading various online accounts of the narratives (I admittedly have never read them myself). A few years ago, Chaos Walking probably would have been granted a multi-film roll out over several years, a la either The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, and it's perhaps an ironic asset of sorts that there's probably going to only be one Chaos Walking film.
Chaos Walking is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists the Arri Alexa 65 and a 4K DI as relevant datapoints, and this is by and large a really nice looking transfer with typically excellent detail levels and really appealing clarity. In both wide vista aerial flyovers as well as more "grounded" close-ups, the fine detail levels in the frequent forest scenes is generally great looking, so much so that when some less sharp looking CGI intrudes, the contrast is actually notable. That said, if the CGI Spackle is a little on the soft and ill defined side, the noise effects, which look kind of like rainbow colored waves emanating from heads, adds a relatively distinctive look to things. That said, in scenes where a prevalence of noise is being documented, the practical photography "in back" can look soft due to the hazy waves overlaying things. There's a refreshing lack of really aggressive grading in the film, with the lush forested scenes looking appropriately green, but a lot of the rest of the palette exploiting everything from pastels to some nice vivid primaries.
Chaos Walking features an often fun Atmos track. Surround activity is very well handled throughout the presentation, aided and abetted by the glut of outdoor material, where ambient environmental effects can alternately sweep around the listener or be anchored in discrete channels. The Atmos channels get good workouts in various scenes, including Viola's ship's disastrous entry into the atmosphere of New World, and a skirmish with a Spackle in a forest river. Even various characters' noise can waft up and over the listener convincingly. There are frequent uses of panning effects, including a nice chase involving both a motorcycle and several horses. The score by Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts is also afforded a spacious presentation. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.
I'd love to find out why Patrick Ness so drastically rewrote his source novels for this film adaptation, and my hunch is those who have read the books will feel even more strongly about that (as mentioned above, I have not read Ness' books). There are some fun elements here, including a nice scenery chewing performance from Mikkelson, but way too much is left unexplained and/or underdeveloped for the film to ever really register very strongly. Technical merits are first rate and the supplementary package very enjoyable for those who are considering a purchase.
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