Naked Singularity

The wait continues for a new movie worthy of the talents of John Boyega.

Not even an impending apocalypse adds much in the way of urgency. Still, Boyega is very credible and at 29 he's beginning to look like a leading man with real gravitational pull. Likely he'll file this on his CV under misfire.

Chase Palmer, the film's director and co-writer (with David Matthews), hacks away at this thick forest of high concepts and plot detail, but it all just keeps growing back, making for a tangled mess that's as irritating as a stroll through a nettle patch.

Even as Mexican cartels, Hasidic money-launderers, modal realism explanations and a samurai sword pile up around the action, "Naked Singularity" stubbornly refuses to engage.

It's difficult to think of anything that exactly works in Naked Singularity. Even the villain muddles the message the movie wants to send.

There's something off-kilter about [Naked Singularity], in a good way. It has a confidence that might not be earned but is still enjoyable to see.

All the quirks of the courts are on full display here. Combine that with Boyega’s performance and the result is a hit.

Things feel too rushed throughout the film, and events get wrapped up too easily by the end.

De La Pava's surreal novel is lost in transition as the film version settles for an average heist caper. The solid cast makes it very watchable.

A promising feature directorial debut for Palmer.