A clumsy, lame caper not worth its runtime
harmless, they realise soon enough that the ET, which they christen Calvin, is hostile and virtually indestructible.
The six-member crew tries to fend off the beastie, even attempting at one point to nuke it with a flame-thrower. Using a barrage of extreme close-ups, director Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) strives to replicate the scares generated by scores of space-set horror flicks, but merely succeeds in repeating clichés. As for the ‘and-then-therewere-none’ plotline, it fails to provide emotional engagement.
The acting is, at best, serviceable. Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson glower and grimace non-stop. It is hard to fathom why Ryan Reynolds accepted what is essentially a glorified cameo.
To its credit, the film winds down with an extremely clever switcheroo designed to set the stage for a sequel.
First, a little background: Chips is an unwarranted reboot of a 1970s TV show. Dax Shepard, who wrote and directed the big-screen adaptation, also plays the lead role of a rookie police officer who needs to put both his life and his marriage back on track.
He is partnered with a straitlaced federal agent working undercover as a highway patrolman (Michael Pena).
Together, the crime-fighters stir up a storm on the streets of Los Angeles. Their mission: to bring the perpetrators of multimillion-dollar heists to justice. To add a modicum of excitement, it seems that the robberies could have been an inside job. Lame quips and motorbike stunts are all you have to break the tedium. The actors, including veteran baddie Vincent D’Onofrio, are inept; the director’ real-life wife Kristen Bell is an even bigger disappointment, in the brief role of his on-screen spouse.
All seen and sniggered at, this cheesy cops-versus-criminal caper doesn’t even qualify as a decent diversion.
RASHID IRANI