Synchronic **½ (out of 5) ( R ) Time-travel action flicks always require some suspension and curiosity to stick with the premise. It’s usually why not go back or forward again in time to correct any errors in the first attempt? Or how will the present be altered by changing a past event? This one does a pretty good job of minimizing those wayward thoughts while viewing.
A new designer drug is messing up users in New Orleans - always a great location for paranormal, or otherwise creepy- to-menacing, proceedings. Two paramedics (Anthony Mackie, Jamie Dornan) are front and center on the growing crisis, with the pill sending people into delusions (or worse) that may include time travel with residual effects in the present. They determine that the missing teen daughter (Ally Ionnides) of one got stuck in a different time, and try to rescue her. That forces Mackie to risk multiple trips to land in the year where she is. Fortunately, the location remains the same. There are other “rules” for the journeys, plus a limited supply of the transporting drug. Tick. Tick. Tick.
The action is reasonably paced for the genre, with much of the budget presumably going to the depictions of several time periods. The visits to other ages allow us to see a wide variety of New Orleanses, before and after the one we know. Overall, the script is direct-to-video caliber, but the sets and costumes are theater-worthy. (Opens in theaters and drive-ins 10/23/20)