Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

david parkes This movie started out by setting up the viewer nicely for the following 90 minutes, some very good acting and some good scripting. not wanting to put any spoilers within this review the film does grip you till the end, with a nice conclusion.The Science fiction for the most part actually seemed not that far in the future which is always nice as having to suspend belief can sometimes be tiresome. The set pieces seemed to be well directed and the fight scenes especially the one on one between "David" and "Nicolov" were gritty/bloody and very realistic, not clean martial art which we've seen in so many movies.The last lines said by "david" to "maria" seemed perfect and totally within the character that has been created. Having an actor like Patrick Bauchau in any movie would almost guarantee me watching, Albert Dupontel is very good as the damaged police officer "david"That said the movie did feel rushed in the last 15 minutes. It did seem that the director spent to much time on the first 3/4 of the movie and tried to speed it up when all the threads of the story were weaved together.Overall and enjoyable movie subtle sci-fi with a good script and good action. An excellent cast.If you don't understand french then watch a version with English subtitles as the dub is not good.If you like you sci-fi on the not mainstream side and you like to be able to think a little about a story then try this.

garyvanhorn OK, just so everyone knows it's a foreign film, French to be exact, and it is best watched in subtitles because the dubbing is terribad. If you can't stand to read your movie don't bother. Chrysalis is a sci-fi action thriller that pits an angry, vengeance driven Europol cop against a former Bulgarian special agent for control over the technology to create, implant, and erase human memories. The fight scenes are very well done and I really liked the "hard" fighting style that was employed rather than the "soft" martial arts so often seen in movies. The tech was very well done and low key, something I appreciated, too often sci-fi movies favor gadgets over plot. I liked the story but would have liked to have seen a bit more character development. All said I enjoyed the movie and I am glad I saw it.

Ismaninb All connoisseurs and other snobs know that between 1960 and 1980 French cinema was miles ahead of Hollywood. Directors like Melville knew that they could not compete on special effects etcetera because of the smaller budgets. They took the only possible course: do what Hollywood doesn't dare to do. Chrysalis breaks the Hollywood conventions as well and still stands firm in the French tradition. The pale colours remind us of classics like Le Samourai; the Hoffmann character could have been played by Alain Delon in his heydays. Dialogues are minimalistic and therefor highly effective. The two story lines first are independent and gradually merge. Montage between the two is brilliant; every scene makes you longing for the next one. Only halfway the meaning of the opening scene is partly revealed; only near the end you will understand it fully. So some patience and a bigger attention span than average is demanded - and rewarded. The movie has two weak points. First of all there is the plot. Probably I am not fair, but I find it hard to accept the plots of Robocop and Terminator as well. Never will movies like that get more than 8 stars. Second I find the Hoffmann character not that convincing anymore after his "accident". Don't take my criticism too hard. Deviating from the Hollywood norm involves risks so should be praised. Chrysalis is highly entertaining and intriguing, unless you prefer the standard, brainless and predictable stuff. And never I have seen such cold scenery.

cashiersducinemart A by-the-numbers cop movie with sci-fi elements, this French policier felt very tired than being the fresh, slick thriller it so wanted to be. Loud gunshots, car crashes and fist fights are utilized as an attempt to break up the monotony of the script by Leclerq, Nicolas Peufaillit, Franck Philippon , and Aude Py (yes, it took four people to write this film when it felt like one person could have written it in their sleep).Plugging into the generic lead role this time out are Albert Dupontel as David Hoffman, the take-no-prisoners cop who'd rather get the job done right than follow procedure. Hoffman looses not only his partner in the opening gun battle but his wife as well. Now it's personal…times deux. He's partnered with the well-meaning newbie Marie Becker (Marie Guillard) and the two work to find the truth behind a series of deaths. Of course, these murders are ultimately tied back to the fateful opening gunfight and to the plot of Doctor Brugen (Marthe Keller) helping her daughter regain her memories after a tragic auto accident.The large, gleaming neon sign points out the insidious mucky-muck plot device of a terrible weapon that's fallen into the wrong hands. Think "Project Janus" of JUDGE DREDD or any other number of government-funded weapons that have gone awry. This time it's a set of head gear that can download, erase, or implant memories into a subject. As government stooge Patrick Bachau (producer of CHRYSALIS) explains to his niece, Marie, the Chrysalis machine could be used to implant the memory of a fervent jihadist into innocent minds to create an army of terror killers. Likewise, a powerful business man could go on living forever by putting his mind into a younger body. If you just thought of FREEJACK, you're not alone.The only scene missing from CHRYSALIS is the rewriting of Hoffman's memories and his struggle to maintain his identity. (That might not be in the film but the scene of him handing over his gun and his badge is!) Rather, Hoffman's mind is wiped. This may actually be a good thing as it removes the demons of his haunted past and allows Maria the chance to be the weak protagonist for a while. Things shake out just as you know they will. There's even a "the media will love this" scene with Guillard and Bachau at the end.CHRYSALIS isn't a bad film so much as it's misleading. It's a light snack that pretends to be a three course meal.