Synchronicity

I won't rant about this movie being terrible since I was at least able to get through it completely without turning it off, so that's a start! What I meant in my title of it being 20 years late is that the acting and music was all too reminiscent of a 90's movie, or better yet for those who remember the TV series "The Outer Limits" this is exactly how it is structured. The acting is so so, and the special effects are lack luster, especially considering what is available nowadays. The story had so much potential and really is an interesting idea, however i feel it's sort of been done with movies like Momento, or Paycheck, but just wasn't a great delivery to feel original. For scifi peeps like me it is worth a watch on a rainy day when there is nothing else on.

The main visual inspiration is most obviously "Blade Runner" as the film goes through great efforts to emulate the look of those vast cityscapes, particularly during its establishing shots. And, like Ridley Scott's film, the movie has a constant hazy, smoky sheen throughout. Gentry appears to be really fascinated with 1980s sci-fi; you get the impression that the design of the film represents a 1980s vision of the future.

While the plot and some of the characters' behavior initially comes across as odd and incomprehensible, it really starts to come together in a surprising way once you get past all the time travel technical jargon from the first half hour. "Synchronicity" also entertains partly because it knows how to have fun with itself. The characters feel grounded and down-to- earth despite living in a world where time travel is possible. The film follows physicist Jim Beale (Chad McKnight) who, along with his team, invents a device that can bend space and time and create a wormhole. This wormhole can send something (or someone) back in time, but Jim Beale has difficulty proving it can work.

His first experiment resulted in receiving an exotic flower, a dahlia, from the future, but he can't prove that it was ever sent back into the past. This doesn't go over well with his investor, a greedy venture capitalist named Klaus Meisner (Michael Ironside) whose funding is desperately needed in order for this device to keep operating.

This "aint" Blade Runner. Sorry Jim Beam but I could not help myself. I hope you don't mind.

Synchronicity tries very, very hard to recapture the music, sets and overall "feel" of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Sad fact is, the latter film is a masterpiece, in a league of its own and any pretenders, are going to come across as Asian flea market renderings of the Mona Lisa.

That said, to be fair, this film is not awful. Its a modest affair and yes, it does do a reasonable job of recapturing the 80's feel found in Scott's film. I'll even admit I had a few "deja-vu", sentimental moments, that took me back to my teenage years. The music and dusky, smoky sets, in particular, were very emotive.

Its also worth remembering too that this film is not Blade Runner. Indeed, the film it most reminds me of is Videodrome, with James Woods. Not because of the storyline but more its slower pace and "surreal" feel. This film is best suited to a thoughtful, patient viewer, who is willing to spend the time and effort needed to understand its various complex, time travel based, paradoxes.

In summary, a reasonable if not exceptional film that, in one way or other pays homage to 80's sci fi classics. Six out of ten from me.

I've read the negative and 'so-so' reviews here on this movie and wonder if we watched the same movie. References to Blade Runner, capturing 80's style production etcetera - sorry but I don't agree. I Hailed Blade Runner as the best futuristically dystopian Sci-Fi movie as the best I'd ever seen way back when it first came out, I have every version of it and still watch them on a regular basis - it never fails to satisfy and leave me with a feeling of calm satisfaction. Just about every movie that's ever been made just like every story that's ever been written owes something to those that came before it: as they say there is nothing new under the sun. Now back to Synchronicity 2015. It is a stand alone movie with (all IMHO) a solid well-written script, a sound and interesting premise, more than acceptably good special effects (which it didn't need to rely upon to tell its story), very well cast and well acted and although not a 'drivingly wild video game movie' (yuk) it never lags in pace or fails to hold the viewers interest and curiosity. Nothing is certain ... is it past or parallel, real or imagined, it leaves a lot for the viewer to decide which is, I surmise, why the movie gets such a mixed reception. Not a typical Hollywood style wrap it all up neatly in buttered popcorn it needs your attention and perhaps more than a single viewing to appreciate the content. The sexuality/physical attraction that has been called a love story is neither pointless nor gratuitous but serves a well-defined emotional purpose given the context of events and the nature of the relationship which intertwines the raison d'être of the two characters involved with the development of the premise upon which the film proceeds. If you want or are looking for a movie that is blunt force trauma to the senses then this won't be for you. If, however, you appreciate subtlety of expression, timing and story development then give this movie a watch. I enjoyed it and will watch it several more times to allow the subtleties previously unseen to fully develop. 7 out of 10 at least on my scale for a movie that not only entertains, but holds ones attention for the duration of the movie and has characters that are believable and very human.

This movie boasts a "sci fi noir" tag and I gotta say, it's a cop out. It's more of a b grade movie than a noir film of any kind.

The soundtrack was repetitive cut and pastes of 80s "sounds" which were super cheesy and just gross. Look back to The Machine for an example of a decent sound track, this sounds like the version done by an inexperienced composer.

The plot it's self is basically what Primer did much better but it had a romance that was essential for the plot to work and unfortunately this writer and the lead actress cannot pull off romance. Don't make a romantic relationship the key to your plot unless you're as good at romance writing as you are science fiction writing. The other aspect of the film, which many unfairly compare to Dark City, is that they use an endless amount of gloss and dark lighting to try to make everything seem dark and gritty. Combined with the music it was just tedious to take in.

Don't get suckered in by the comparisons made to better movies or the "noir" tags.