- Director : Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
- Actors : Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan, Katie Aselton
- Media Format : Dolby, Surround Sound, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 41 minutes
- Release date : January 26, 2021
- MPAA rating : R (Restricted)
- Studio : Well Go Usa
- Number of discs : 1
The news that indi
filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have just been hired as directors
for a new Marvel show on Disney Plus shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who
has seen Synchronic, particularly after having followed the progression
of their career prior to their latest low budget science fiction thriller. There
are distinct differences in their latest film, most notably being the casting
of name actors and an unambiguous sci-fi premise. This is easily their most
accessible film, and at times it feels like a calling card to Hollywood to
prove that it is possible to make Christopher Nolan films with a fraction of
the budget and half the plot holes.
Having established
themselves as directors who thrive in low budget sci-fi films that commonly
have a horror or thriller slant with Resolution, Spring, and The
Endless, Synchronic feels like a clear continuation of their
directorial style and narratives. It also continues a near hallucinatory
approach to filmmaking, though this film uses it in a way that is grounded in
rules of the story premise. This one explains the strange happenings with the
existence of a designer drug known as Synchronic which is plaguing the streets
of New Orleans.
When paramedics
and longtime friends Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) come
across several bizarre accidents on the job, they find that all are tied to a
new synthetic drug being legally sold. This pill is designed as a knockoff of MDMA,
but rather than acting as a hallucinatory drug, it has an unintended affect on
the brain that alters time. In short, this pill creates the ability for time travel.
When Dennis’s teenage daughter (Ally Ioannides) takes the drug and vanishes,
Steve takes it upon himself to experiment until he finds a way to bring her
back.
While Synchronic
may not have the budget of a film like Tenet, a fact that is quite clear
with some of the visual effects, it does offer a script that remains intelligent
even after analysis. In their past films, Moorhead and Benson had a tendency to
leave things ambiguous. While this was exciting, it would likely also leave
mainstream audiences disappointed. Synchronic is a clear effort for them
to appease to a wider audience. The next question we have to ask is whether or
not their intelligence and creativity will be able to survive the beast that is
Disney, as very few before them have.
The Blu-ray
release for Synchronic may not boast the visual spectacle that a Hollywood
blockbuster might, but the work done to achieve the visuals of the sci-fi
premise are deserving of being seen in higher definition of Blu-ray. The Blu-ray
disc also comes with an impressive assortment of extras, most notably a
commentary track with directors and producers. There is also a making-of featurette,
as well as a previsualization of the VXF for the film’s most important sequences.
As if that weren’t enough, there is also additional footage in the form of
deleted scenes and an alternative ending (another sign of efforts to make a commercially
viable film).
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 8/10
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