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Chaos Theory

EMAILPRINTWarner Bros. Pictures

Chaos Theory reviews
44
7.8 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 6 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Crime  |  Romance

Written by: Daniel Taplitz

Directed by: Marcos Siega

Release Date:
Theatrical: April 11, 2008
DVD: June 10, 2008

Running Time: 86 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content and language

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend, and Milo Ventimiglia

Frank Allen, celebrated author of the bestseller The Five Minute Efficiency Trainer, has perfected the art of living via a foolproof system of timetables and index cards. In fact, his daily “to do” lists are legendary. A man known for playing it safe, Frank doesn’t believe in spontaneity. Every choice he makes is deliberate––designed to contribute to a well-ordered, predictable life. But life, as he soon learns, never adheres to a strict schedule. Frank is about to discover that not even an efficiency expert armed with timetables and index cards can change the serendipitous nature of family and friendship, love and forgiveness. (Warner Bros.)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The performances and Marcos Siega’s direction put a pleasing sheen on the material.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

By creating likable characters and putting them in situations that seem plausible, if a bit of a stretch, the film succeeds where others of its genre fail.

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63

Boston Globe Ty Burr

"Maybe" was watchable and blandly pleasant; "Theory" is a smidgen better than that, if not the cruelly funny farce the movie's best impulses and its own trailer would have you believe.

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63

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

When you watch Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, there's often a sense that you're not just watching him perform in a movie, you're watching the next stage of his unfolding career plan.

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60

Variety Dennis Harvey

The lead performers, the brighter fillips in Daniel Taplitz’s screenplay and Marcos Siega’s (“Pretty Persuasion”) assured direction make this a pleasing item overall.

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50

Village Voice Nick Pinkerton

Reynolds, called to 180 from anal nebbish to feral beast, is beautifully committed, but he gets no help on the other side of the camera.

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50

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

The picture continuously shuffles moods like tunes on an iPod without ever making any lasting commitments.

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50

TV Guide Ken Fox

Atonal romantic comedy.

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50

Los Angeles Times Mark Olsen

Not exactly bad, but it disappointingly never really discovers the movie that it wants to be.

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50

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

With a title like Chaos Theory, one might expect a little runaway energy or a dash of wild spirit under the antics, but there's little punchy anarchy in this controlled experiment.

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50

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

The comic scenes can be arch or shrill, but director Marcos Siega (Pretty Persuasion) does better when the story turns somber and the emotions feel genuine.

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50

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling

Peddles the usual carpe diem movie bunk.

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42

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

The big reason Chaos Theory doesn't work is that the gears are visibly grinding away, cranking out neat little ironies and life lessons without any liberating surprises.

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40

The New York Times Laura Kern

A predictable romantic dramedy that isn’t particularly tender, moving or amusing, Chaos Theory suffers first and foremost from featuring the least engaging couple to headline a movie in some time.

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40

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The kind of movie designed more for a has-been than a potential leading man, this slapdash dramatic comedy fits the now-established pattern perfectly: Your (Ryan Reynolds) committed performance is the sole reason to see it.

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38

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Chaos Theory stumbles from one contrived circumstance to the next, and there's not a moment in this entire mess that conveys any sort of genuine human emotion or reaction.

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30

Washington Post Desson Thomson

In Chaos Theory, Reynolds's performance is taut, crabby and tense. And his beard and glasses, which intensify those already narrow eyes, suggest a mad bomb-builder rather than a hapless soul with whom we can identify.

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25

New York Post Kyle Smith

The audience, if any, for Chaos Theory is going to be hit with a little puff of celluloid flatulence. The movie won't linger in the air, but that doesn't make it any less embarrassing.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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