In a futuristic London, ex-soldier Ryan Reeve (Noel Clarke, Doctor Who) wakes up in the back of a van where a young teenager named Alex (Art Parkinson, Game of Thrones) is tied up and screaming that a man in a red mask broke into his house and killed his mother. Ryan is disoriented and doesn’t know where he is or how he got there, but decides to help the boy, and they make a run for it as soon as the vehicle slows down. But the men driving the van chase after them.

When Harkin (Ian Somerhalder, The Vampire Diaries) catches up with Ryan, he tells him his 10 minutes are almost up. Ryan starts to feels dizzy and passes out—when he awakes it is 10 days later and he’s just as confused and disoriented as before. And in 9 minutes and 47 seconds he flashes again, this time waking up in New York three weeks later in bed with a prostitute named Dana (Alexis Knapp, Ground Floor).

Ryan soon learns that a man named Dr. Lloyd Langham (Brian Cox, The Slap) has developed a technology that lets him use other people’s bodies as drones, and that Langham has been hijacking his body, making him do all sorts of bad things. However, due to a glitch in the technology, there are windows 9 minutes and 47 seconds long where he has control over his own body. So now he must figure out who he can trust, and utilize these windows to rescue Alex and stop Langham before he can mass deploy this drone technology. However, each time he wakes, he finds himself dealing with new consequences of actions he can’t remember doing.

It’s a shame that Ian Somerhalder gets top billing for this film (and is the only one who appears on the cover of the Blu-ray). Noel Clarke is the real star and director of the movie, while Somerhalder’s role is only a fraction of the size. Clarke really keeps the story moving both on and off screen.

I really appreciated the clever and interesting premise, but found myself a bit confused at times—though I suspect that was one of the filmmaker’s goals—to put the viewer in Ryan’s shoes. Whenever Ryan has one of his flashes, he is a bit disoriented and confused, and the way the movie is filmed, the viewer also experiences this along with the character.

There are very beautiful and creative camera shots throughout the film—I particularly enjoyed the use of tracking shots and 360 degree pans during long chase/running scenes which help to bring the viewer into the experience. And the fight sequences look amazing—as Ryan is punching or flip kicking the bad guys, there is a mix of slow motion and camera shakes to emphasize when heavy kicks or punches land. In some of the fight scenes, this shaking makes it feel like the action is coming off the screen. The soundtrack and use of bass also helps to sell this over-the-top action and build the adrenaline of the film.

The film looks and sounds excellent on this Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the disc contains no bonus material—not even a trailer. I would have loved to have listened to an audio commentary or have some kind of glimpse behind-the-scenes at what it took to put this futuristic world together!

What’s Included:

Film: (1:36:42)

• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Extras:

There is no bonus material included on this disc, not even a trailer.

Final Thoughts:

The Anomaly is a visually-stunning film with a very clever premise and some fantastic action sequences. Noel Clarke is really the star of the film and deserves bigger billing for his work both in front of and behind the camera. Overall, I found the movie to be a fun ride action-wise, but sometimes the story got a bit too confusing. The Blu-ray visual and audio presentations are excellent. The film is worth a look, perhaps a rental before a blind buy since there is no supplemental material included on the disc.