I wasn’t going to write a blog about this movie, but it keeps haunting me, so now I’m compelled. 

Chaos Walking (2021) was not a very logical movie. The evolution of the story didn’t make a lot of sense, but here’s why it piqued my interest: it offered a unique storyline at a time when I’ve felt particularly disenchanted with all the sci-fi remakes and reboots. 

I’m going to define it as a “science-fiction-comedy” even though I’m not entirely sure they meant it to be comedic… 

Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland) is a teenage boy living in a dystopian future-Earth inhabited only by men. Where are all the women? Todd’s certainly never seen one. He lives with his two Dads on a farm and is bored out of his mind. 

According to Mayor Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen), a humanoid species –”The Spackle”–killed all the women years ago in a human vs. humanoid war. He and his son Davy (Nick Jonas) are the Lucius and Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter villain reference FTW!) of this story. 

The remaining men are afflicted by a phenomenon referred to as “The Noise”, which apparently broadcasts their every thought for all to hear. Interesting, right? You can already start to imagine how something like that could cause issues. 

Prentiss is one of the few men on the planet who has learned to control his “Noise”, which gives him a decided advantage over the others. They cannot see or hear his thoughts as easily as he can see and hear theirs. Yes, I said SEE, because sometimes the imagery of the thoughts is depicted as well as the thoughts themselves. 

One lazy afternoon, a girl named Viola (Daisy Ridley) crash lands on the planet. Todd discovers her ship and it isn’t long until other men in the community find out. I mean…they CAN hear his thoughts after all…Prentiss and his men decide to scavenge the site for parts and look for survivors; but they don’t find any. 

It’s not long before Todd comes across Viola, which inevitably leads to her capture and interrogation. While Mayor Prentiss tries to gain her trust, his dumb son accidentally blows a hole in the wall. This is when Viola sees her moment to escape. 

I don’t blame her. She just crashed on a planet, alone, and she doesn’t know these men or what their intentions might be. Turns out, her instincts are spot-on, because during her escape she hears Prentiss talk about his plan to prevent her from contacting her mothership, intercept its landing, kill everyone on board who’s still in cryosleep, and then scavenge the ship. 

Todd, who is both intrigued and apparently sexually awakened, feels he should protect Viola, so as she escapes on a stolen motorcycle, he rides desperately behind on his horse. Prentiss and his hillbilly posse aren’t far behind either.

After Todd catches up to Viola, the two begin their travels through the dense forest. Their mission? Find a crashed ship so Viola can broadcast a warning to her mothership. As they hike along, all of Todd’s awkward hormonal thoughts are on full display–and it’s quite hilarious.

Meanwhile, Prentiss and his men are still looking for them, which is kind of easy to do since Todd’s thoughts are LOUD and can be seen for miles.

In the midst of the adventure, we learn about Viola and Todd’s pasts and the truth behind the disappearance of the women. 

The way they wrap this whole thing up is utterly unsatisfying and leaves plot holes left and right, but even so, the film is at least fun, funny, and unique. I would probably toss it in the “teen” category because that’s the demographic it seems meant for. If you like cringey, funny science-fiction films driven by teenage hormones, give it a shot.