Perhaps this film might’ve led up to its name more in its distribution than in the actual film. It’s been around since 2005 and has finally arrived on DVD. The film has a game cast, but the results seem more bland than chaotic. A man called Lorenz (Wesley Snipes) and two thugs arrive at a bank, send the place into lockdown, and hold the staff hostage. One of the tellers manages to press the silent alarm and he pays dearly for it. Lorenz only has one demand, that Quentin Conners (Jason Stratham) be put on the case.
Conners has been suspended from the force for his involvement in a botched hostage situation on the Pearl Street Bridge. Young detective Shane Dekker (Ryan Phillippe) is brought in on the case but doesn’t have much respect for Conners’ seemingly law bending ways.
The trio of robbers set off a bomb in the bank that’s not designed to do anything but cause a great amount of chaos and allows the robbers to escape. What is interesting about the crime is that the robbers appear to have not taken anything from the bank.
Dekker determines that Lorenz is an alias and from an author who had a theory of chaos theory that seemingly random, chaotic events are connected and now Conners and Dekker have to find reason in these events to find out the real reason behind the robbery.
Chaos has a game cast that probably seemed like a great one in 2005, when this film was actually made. It’s taken some three years for the film to get released from the vault and it’s really a bit of a shame since it’s not too bad a film.
However, the plot points are a bit obvious when you get down to it. I was able to spot some characters involvement early on and the end confirmed my suspicions and others were red herrings that didn’t end up being involved at all.
I may have thought some of the points obvious that didn’t materialize by films end, but my major suspicion came to fruition and this was supposed to supply the films twist ending but it wasn’t much of a twist to me since I suspected it very early on.
Stratham plays the renegade cop well and Phillippe does well as the new kid on the force. Wesley Snipes is actually pretty good, but his role is the one that gets the less screen-time and his connections to the main plot seem a bit forced in the end. Chaos is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by director Tony Giglio and a 12-minute making of called “The Order Behind Chaos.”
Not exactly a classic, but a nice way to spend a lazy afternoon if you’re looking for an action film. The plot will either be familiar and seems to make some leaps towards the end, but it has a game cast even if it doesn’t hold up by the end but it never really gets chaotic enough that you can’t be entertained.
Chaos is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a March 24th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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