Synchronic; Grade: B+

Synchronic tells a story about this new psychedelic drug called Synchronic. Synchronic was sold in a small local market, but takes on effects not known to man, including time travel as those whom partake in the drug, will experience real life situations back in the past. A couple Paramedics Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) have been experiencing a lot of brutal deaths from those partaking in the drug, but now tragedy strikes at Dennis as his daughter has taken the drug and has gone missing. Steve has tested out the drug himself and will move forward executing a plan, to bring his friends daughter back.

The Cinematography was pretty good, loved how the worlds in which those partake in this drug, also thought the gruesome death shots were well shot. The Score was cool, enjoyed the composed music in this. The cast all in all was solid as a whole. Anthony Mackie playing Steve was solid in his performance, felt similar to somewhat of Samuel L Jackson the way he delivers his lines, as the dialogue can become over the top and comedic in ways. Steve is a fairly written protagonist, as you understand his struggles dealing with these deaths, the missing of his friends daughter, and his own personal issue. With all he’s going through, Steve at least had to make a valid effort, by helping Dennis retrieve his daughter back to present day, even if it means not being able to survive himself. Jamie Dornan playing Dennis had a solid performance as well, not as developed as Steve but a nice supporting character providing Steve moral purpose in his journey.

I have a couple flaws with Synchronic. There’s one issue regarding what can be able to return back to present day aspect. My issue is referring to Steve encountering a man from a cold arctic like place, as the man didn’t return to present day with Steve, though the man was touching Steve before he went back to present. Regarding the rules of this drug... Surely this man would’ve went back to present day along with Steve, so a minor logic issue there. Some of the dialogue is a bit goofy, especially while dealing with a serious circumstance I’m not sure why it was put in at all. It worked sometimes, but at times it felt unnecessary. Synchronic comes from the film makers that brought us The Endless, a solid sci-fi film. These directors are certainly visionaries, so their films often go beyond the standard norm, creating a new experience. With Synchronic... I really enjoyed this one.

I felt the story was well written, as not only was it fairly paced and entertaining, but it’s a story in which makes sense and is developed properly. Regarding the drug of Synchronic... It was pretty cool to explore the worlds it had to offer, as not only was it thrilling but certainly frightening when not handling properly or not knowing much of it. The thing with Synchronic is the sci-fi aspect wasn’t difficult nor dumb down to understand it, it all made clear sense as you’re not questioning majority of the time what’s going on. It’s also worth noting the dramatic aspect was solid as well, as we cared for our characters and the situations they are currently going through. For some reason Synchronic has a sense of humor, though at times it doesn’t work as it felt kind of odd. However some of the comedic aspect did bring some laughs out of me, so this film offers a variety of genres.

Overall, Synchronic was a pretty good film. I recommend checking this one out, it’s a very cool movie. -Mitch Smietana