What starts as the equivalent of a buddy cop movie with two EMTs slowly turns into a caper but really kicks into gear as a hybrid between Primer and Avengers: Endgame. Yes, Synchronic is a time travel movie, not just about a mystery about the fictional titular drug floating around New Orleans.
Steve (Anthony Mackie) and Dennis (Jamie Dornan) star opposite each other as seasoned EMTs in New Orleans. From one stop to the next over the course of a few days, each of the crime scenes they report to have a mysterious drug in common: Synchronic. Some that take it live but are left in hysterics or badly wounded. Many die. But one disappears.
While a bit too coincidental, the missing user is Dennis’ daughter Brianna who was about to move out on her own much to Tara’s (Katie Aselton) disapproval. Is it also too much of a coincidence that the only person that can save her is Steve? Maybe, but that is all forgiven for how well the pieces play into each other an emotional and entertaining level.
As that all plays out to incite conflict between Dennis and Tara that causes an existential crisis for the former, Steve is diagnosed with brain cancer that will certainly kill him. The catch is it has stunted an area of the brain that happens to be affected by Synchronic as he finds out after taking a dose following his diagnosis with nothing to live for.
Turns out, Synchronic doesn’t just give users a psychedelic trip, it literally sends them on a trip back in time. As far as time travel logic goes, the rules presented through Steve’s trials make sense in director Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s world, placing him as the only person capable of going back in time to bring Brianna back.
What ensues is a perfect spiritual companion piece to Endgame. It certainly helps that Mackie is in both movies but the real parallels happen on an emotional and intellectual level. Steve’s character is equal parts Hawkeye and Nat as he offers himself as a sacrifice to save one person, he’s Tony in his search to use a weapon for a righteous cause, and his life preceding his new purpose is an empty void like Thor falls into.
Still, the trials Steve goes through give Synchronic on another level beyond being just another time travel movie. It also helps to have one of Mackie’s best performance at the center of it all and helps push the story into areas of more social concern while he confronts his mortality.
Dornan, while not given as much to work with, gives an equally compelling performance as the other side of the Endgame parallels. He’s on the wrong side of the snap per se as he has to deal with the loss of his daughter while his wife blames him, and later needs to reconcile with the pending death of his best friend.
Even more than its emotional punch, on the most basic level, it’s the ultimate story of finding purpose in life. The last conversation Brianna and her dad have is about her struggling in school and finding meaning to impending adulthood. It’s only fitting she is then literally lost in time. Steve’s arc plays out in the same way as he moves on from a life of empty sex to a role of a savior, meanwhile, his best friend is trapped in a lifeless marriage that he fills with trips to the strip club.
Benson and Moorhead handle all of that with light hands, never pushing the drama too far as to let their stars shine against the backdrop of strong supporting visual effects to sell their product. A wholly satisfying product that anyone reeling from Endgame should check out.
Overall Grade: 8.5 out of 10
