Rated: R | Running Time: 101 Minutes
From: Well Go USA Entertainment
Available on Digital Platforms: January 12, 2021
Available on Blu-Ray: January 26, 2021
Get it via : Amazon
It’s always a problem when there is a new party drug in town, and this time it’s a drug called Synchronic.
But here comes Dennis (Jamie Dorman) and Steve (Anthony Mackie).
They are paramedics and keep stumbling upon folks who find themselves dead, or in completely bizarre situations that are seemingly unexplained, and somehow stuff from different periods of time show up.
The link appears to be Synchronic, and “Synchronic” is also the name of the movie.
So, yea, we’ve got our heroes, or well, just a couple of dudes living their lives, but things start to go really weird. First you get Steve who finds out he has health issues, then you’ve got Dennis with daughter issues, and then you’ve got dead, or almost dead people, with items from the past or animal bites from animals that no longer live in New Orleans.
First they are all like, “Yea, it’s just another party drug gone wrong!”, but then Dennis’ daughter, Brianna (Ally Ioannides) becomes part of the mix, disappears, and Steve wants the drug off the street.
Enter Dr. Kermani (Ramiz Monsef).
He’s the dude who invented Synchronic, and he explains to Steve how it works, and that time travel is involved.
Yup, let’s do some time travel and try to find Dennis’ daughter!
Lucky for Dennis, and his daughter, that Steve is also kind of a scientist, able to analyze the time travel trips, so yes, Steve begins to hone in on being able to hopefully find Brianna.
And once we find this out, and that the good Doctor is dead, well, the ending is all but secure.
Time travel movies are always tricky. I mean, there is always the “I can go back in time and change things” aspect, or the “Is today the result of the going back?”, but “Synchronic” doesn’t dwell too much on the true metaphysical aspects of traveling through time, only hitting up a couple of sequences for Steve to understand how the drug works.
The movie also has a lot of limiting aspects to the drug so that it really stays focused on one thing, getting Brianna back.
I will say that “Synchronic” is an interesting look at time travel, and visually looks great when the time travel scenes take place. There is some sociological stories going on, especially with Steve being African American and traveling back into the days of slavery, and there is also some psychological aspects of death, but the movie doesn’t get too bogged down in those, instead focusing on Steve’s task at hand.
Don’t get too wrapped up into the flow of time thing, just treat the movie as a sci-fi thriller of a a man trying to find a lost girl, and you’ll be fine. Well, most of you should be fine except for one scene when Steve returns to the present day where I was just completely sad. I believe you may be sad, too, but I’m not telling so you can embrace your sadness.
At the end it’s 3 1/2 stars out of 5 for “Synchronic.” A nice sci-fi thriller for you while stuck inside. The Blu-ray has some fun commentary, making of, and things like that, but for me, the Blu-ray is worth its price of admission for the “Alternate Ending.” It was perfect.
That’s it for this one! L8R!!