The year is 2257. The homeland of Todd Hewitt is the colonized planet New World, where the thoughts of men have a visual and sound embodiment and are called noise. The guy lives in a small village inhabited exclusively by men, and has not yet learned to hide his thoughts from others. One day, a reconnaissance ship from the second wave of colonists crashes over the planet, as a result of which Todd sees a girl for the first time in his conscious life. The local mayor decides to use her in his insidious plans, but the girl escapes, and now she cannot do without Todd’s help.

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Chaos Walking primarily the result of protracted production that has turned a once ambitious project with a great cast and a unique world into one of the biggest failures of the past decade.

Actually, it is worth starting with the fact that this is definitely a teenage dystopia, but the fact that the film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Patrick Ness slightly changes its perception compared to other similar stories. Patrick Ness, known primarily from the book “The Voice of the Monster”, is popular precisely for his serious attitude towards his young heroes and the difficult life difficulties that they have to face: death, war, growing up, society, family, etc. And the film adaptation of the first book from The Chaos Treads trilogy could win the unconditional place of the winner in the top teenage dystopias if it came out on time.

Teenage dystopias were most popular in the third five-year plan of this century. And this picture would have been at its peak just then. Now she is interesting only for certain topics, good acting and the transmitted atmosphere of the world. The era of this movie ended as quickly as it began. And here the very principle by which the settlement of Prenticestown lives was played: “if one falls, then all fall.” One or two unsuccessful franchise sequels ruined an era.

But The Tread of Chaos is tougher than many teenage dystopias. The amazing talent of Patrick Ness showed that one cannot perceive children’s or teenage literature (like films) as something frivolous, because this stage in life is precisely what determines the rest of life. This is the stage of familiarization with the world and its comprehension. And how it relates to violence around is one of the key questions for a teenager.

In general, the fantasy world of the film is incredibly interesting, it has its own atmosphere, somewhat similar to “Bird Box” and “See”. The idea of ​​”Noise”, peculiar only to men and only on this planet, is an excellent catalyst for conflict and a way of revealing the characters of the heroes. And everything would have gone in the right direction, if not, again, the “expired” project. The laws of life in the New World are shown superficially, chaotically, leaving no opportunity for the viewer to understand its whole essence and the causes of numerous conflicts.

An additional factor of failure can be called the very concept of “the only girl among the society of men.” And although it is not so widespread in post-apocalypticism, etc. genres, but even the little that is (“Z stands for Zechariah,” “Maze Runner,” for example) look far-fetched and boring strategies for plotting. This is where such childishly naive, stupid and annoying motives arise as “falling in love with the first comer”, “it is impossible to understand what is in a woman’s head”, etc. And although the film tries very hard to soften those angles in presentation, these things have not survived the time, slipping into the abyss at the dawn of the 21st century, along with the film “What Women Want” and others like it.

But if you put these problems aside and enjoy what is happening on the screen, then you can find many positive moments in the picture. One of these, in my opinion, is the perfectly presented line of the protagonist’s fathers with a fairly small overall time screen. I was always worried, is it really impossible to show the connection of a couple without obvious scenes of the manifestation of love in the cinema (physical intimacy and typical family conflicts)? And then this theme came out exactly as the film needed: beautiful, easy and understandable.

Another huge plus for me was the cruelty of the film. The film knows how to handle the emotions of the audience, how to present this or that scene (I had to cry about as much as I got angry).

The plot itself, although it moves thanks to the following from point A to point B, then to point C, but following the heroes and the beautiful Canadian forests is not boring at all, not stressful, and sometimes even mesmerizing (in addition to everything, a well-chosen soundtrack).

Even if it is a relic of adolescent dystopia, Treads of Chaos looks fresher and more unique in 2021 than if it was released in the era of the Maze Runner. Today, cinema is filled with openly and boldly asserting questions, while teenage dystopias often mask these same questions under layers of fiction and fantasy. Therefore, watching the film was not boring and, to some extent, nostalgically pleasant. Among other issues raised, one can single out religion, power, the nature of cruelty, the conflict between fathers and children, the struggle and coexistence of different social groups, attitudes towards women, war with its consequences, and how a man becomes in this world, which path he chooses.

Ultimately, the picture turned out to be incomplete, leaving behind more questions than answers, but as the result of a long-suffering idea that faced many obstacles, “The Tread of Chaos” came out quite satisfactory. Yes, a passing film of its genre and in the filmography of its actors, but still not as bad as some of its colleagues. The decision to make one film out of the planned trilogy was the best in this situation. And yes, the process dragged on for 10 years, the budget was stretched to the point of excesses, but in the end it turned out to be very original (as far as it is, of course, is generally possible in the conditions set before him and the world of teenage dystopias)

“The Tread of Chaos” can be watched and revisited, but only thanks to the acting, unobtrusive humor, perspective and eye-catching atmosphere of the world.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (58.9 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles
English SDH, Spanish.