Chained

I ran across this movie "Chained" on TubiTV the other night and said, why not and began watching. Immediately I was taken in by the authentic look and feel of this movie. The writer/director/producer does a great job at capturing the feeling and vibe of life on the streets of New York. I mean it is really raw and true to life. The acting is authentic, the walk and talk are legit. Watching Chained is like looking into the window of the lives of true characters that you meet everyday on the streets. For being an indie film with not much of a budget I give the filmmakers two thumbs up and recommend this movie.

Sure, when I sat down to watch the 2018 movie titled "Chained", I can't really claim to have been expecting a whole lot from the movie. Why? Well, usually these type of movies just fall short of proving properly entertaining for my particular liking. But since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

I will say, though, that "Chained" from writer Deborah Cardona wasn't actually as bad as I had initially dreaded it would be. Sure, this movie is packed to the rim with every stereotype available, so you pretty much know what you are getting here when you sit down to watch a movie of this particular type.

The storyline had some good enough aspects to it, while others were just too generic and predictable. But overall, then the movie actually wasn't too shabby. It was, however, somewhat held back by the acting, the characters and the dialogue.

The characters in the movie were given lots of detail in terms of story arches and personalities, that much was certainly visible throughout the course of the movie. But lots of the interactions and dialogue between the characters was just too staged and rigid, wooden even, to pass as being properly believable. And that made for some awkward scenes from time to time. While parts of the character gallery definitely had potential, I am sure that within the coming week then I will have forgotten about these characters entirely.

As for the acting in "Chained", well, it wasn't exactly stellar performances, but I will say that the cast actually managed to do well enough, and it was certainly adequate for a movie about drugs, gangs and such.

The pacing of the movie was a bit slow. The movie, while running at 76 minutes, felt more like 120 minutes. The movie was rather monotonous in its pacing, and it was somewhat of a struggle to remain attentive to the movie and keep being fully interested and committed.

Now, I don't particularly think that I am the target audience for a movie such "Chained", so some of the movie's appeal might have fallen short of sticking on me. And it wasn't really a particularly memorable or outstanding movie for me. Nor is it a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time.

Overall, then "Chained" was watchable, but it was ultimately a mediocre movie experience. There are far more interesting and compelling gang-related and drug-related dramas out there. My rating of directors Deborah Cardona, Kapri Edwards, Sheerice Martinez and Kisha Morales's 2018 movie lands on a five out of ten stars.

This film was (as many others have said in their reviews), RAW AF. Its street grit reality hits hard and the acting is off-the-charts intense and real. The film almost has a documentary flavor to it, and it's action-packed. Support indie film and check it out!

This indie crime drama's rough and tumble style fits well with its raw story. The characters feel real and alive!

Chained is a made for a very specific audience. For who need to see that a life on the streets leads nowhere, this is one of those movies that needs to be seen. Personally, I found it interesting that the female criminal protagonists considered the police crooked, when everything that they were doing together was probably even more criminal. It's an interesting perspective that shows the hypocrisy of street life, whether it's a man or a woman living it. Overall, the acting seemed authentic, which is a real plus in a movie like this. Any false notes from the actors would render the whole thing laughable. Thankfully, they were all up to the task, and it seemed that perhaps many of the scenes had a lot of improv to them.