A new clip from the long-delayed Chaos Walking shows Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland involved in a motorcycle vs horse chase scene following her escape. The troubled movie, currently scheduled for a March 5 release in theaters and on IMAX despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, was originally shot back in 2017. After poor test audience results, Chaos Walking was delayed by almost two years in order to undergo extensive reshoots. It was directed by Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow), and adapts the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness, who co-wrote the reshoots after the original script needed to be changed.
One of many upcoming films for Holland, in a team-up with Star Wars sequel star Ridley, the movie has suffered not just from bad early screenings and reshoots, but also from a muted marketing campaign, perhaps for good reason. The first Chaos Walking trailer revealed the central premise of the movie, in which Ridley's Viola lands on a planet filled entirely with men whose thoughts are able to be seen and heard by everyone. While that idea is interesting, the trailer made the adaptation look lifeless and uninteresting, beyond the sight of the MCU and Star Wars actors teaming up.
Now, the latest clip from Chaos Walking has been released. The clip shows Ridley's Viola escaping from a barn on a motorcycle, and closely followed by Holland on a horse. Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the film's villainous David Prentiss, mayor of Prentisstown, soon takes off in pursuit himself, along with some henchmen, all on horseback. The footage ends with Ridley disappearing into the forest, while the bad guys gain on Holland's Todd. You can watch the full clip below:
Sadly, this latest bit of footage won't do much to convince the cynics that the reshoots helped improve Chaos Walking. The flat cinematography and lifeless action, not to mention the slightly absurd premise of a motorcycle vs horseback chase, all give the clip the impression of having come from an episode of a small cable TV show, not a big blockbuster, proving that the movie has big problems to overcome if it wants to find an audience.
But, there is still hope for Chaos Walking, as Holland is generally an engaging and fun presence on screen. Whether he alone can overcome the seemingly poor approach to the material remains to be seen, though, and the fact that the film is still scheduled for a March 5 release, despite most major cinema markets being closed, is perhaps a sign that the studio itself sees the movie as something of a lost cause at this point.
Source: Lionsgate
