Chaos (2005)

How do you incorporate Chaos Theory into the plot of a movie without it turning into chaos? Well, I'm not sure how to do it either, but in this film, appropriately titled Chaos, they didn't figure it out either.

The premise is that Jason Statham is Detective Quentin Conners, a veteran of the Seattle Police force, that with his partner Jason York (Wesley Snipes) had an incident on the Pearl Street Bridge. As a result, York is off the force, and Conners is on permanent suspension. A hostage situation develops at a local bank, and the crooks want to deal with Conners of all people. The plot thickens after the incident when it is discovered that the bank robbers didn't take anything out of the bank that they were robbing.

I won't tell you what they were up to, but I will say that this whole thing was very confusing. At too many points in the film, I was confused who they were talking about until the end of the scene. Also, the characters are not introduced well in such a way that one cares about what happens to them. Between the too many characters, and the confusion, I can't wholeheartedly recommend Chaos.

This is a shame, because parts of this movie are quite well done. The hostage standoff at the bank robbing was strong, and one of the better ones I've seen. Ryan Phillippe also turns in a good performance as the rookie detective learning the ropes from Conners. Unfortunately, despite these high points, Chaos is simply a little too, chaotic for this reviewer's taste.

Overall Grade: C

Reviewed by Jonas