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The Life of Chuck starts with Act 3: Thanks, Chuck, where we start to see society breaking down, as suddenly worldwide disasters start happening including sinkholes, weird things happen in the hospital as observed by doctor Felicia (Karen Gillan – Douglas Is Cancelled), and elsewhere by her ex-husband, teacher Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor – The Old Guard 2), then even worse… the internet disappers! And then TV! All they seem to get instead, is ‘adverts’ of a smartly-dressed man sat at a desk, and the words, “Thanks, Chuck! For 39 Great Years!”
Who’s Chuck? Why is he so revered? Is the world ending? And when’s everyone’s favourite website coming back?
Then on to Act 2: Buskers Forever, where we see Chuck (Tom Hiddleston – Avengers: Endgame) as an early-middle-aged man, who chances upon busker drummer Taylor Franck (The Pocket Queen), leading to an impromptu dance, before concluding with Act 1: I Contain Multiples, where we see Chuck growing up as a young boy (played by three actors, ending on Jacob Tremblay – The Toxic Avenger), living with his grandparents (Mia Sara and Mark Hamill), but there’s aspects in this Act which callback to those seen earlier, so I’ll leave that there, but it would be cool to have Sloane Peterson and Luke Skywalker as your grandparents!
Without giving spoilers, I largely enjoyed The Life Of Chuck, but it partly feels a bit plotless at the same time, even though it did come up with a clever ending. Meanwhile, I spotted connections between the three acts at times, and I’m sure a second watch would result in me spotting others. However, one thing I would put behind a spoiler header…
However, what’s really odd – and I don’t know why they’ve done this, but the three acts are in different widescreen aspect ratios: 2.39:1, 2.00:1 and 1.85:1, respectively for Acts 3, 2 and 1.
Before watching it on the big screen, I saw it’s already out on streaming in the US. Given that TVs are 16:9, it’s all within that container, so after Act 1, the picture is effectively taller for Act 2, and again for Act 2. So, as with Opus being stupidly windowboxed in 2.39:1, just because the director used 1.85:1 for the last ten minutes for no apparent reason, I expected the same, here.
But no, I was surprised to see the cinema version go full 2.39:1, so I guess they’ve made two versions depending on the screen shape, with this version filling the 2.39:1 screen for the first segment (Act 3), then being 2.00:1 within the 2.39:1 frame for Act 2, and 1.85:1 for Act 1.
NOTE: There are no mid- or post-credits scenes.
The Life of Chuck is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
However, you can buy the Stephen King novel on which the film is based.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 111 minutes
Release date: August 22nd 2025
Studio: Neon
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Act 3); 2.00:1 (Act 2); 1.85:1 (Act 1)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7.5/10
Director: Mike Flanagan
Producers: Mike Flanagan, Trevor Macy
Screenplay: Mike Flanagan
Short story: Stephen King
Music: The Newton Brothers
Cast:
Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz: Tom Hiddleston
Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz: Jacob Tremblay
Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz: Benjamin Pajak
Charles ‘Chuck’ Krantz: Cody Flanagan
Marty Anderson: Chiwetel Ejiofor
Felicia Gordon: Karen Gillan
Sarah Krantz: Mia Sara
Albie Krantz: Mark Hamill
Taylor Franck: The Pocket Queen (aka Taylor Gordon)
Sam Yarborough: Carl Lumbly
Josh: David Dastmalchian
Hector: Harvey Guillén
Dylan’s Dad: Michael Trucco
Virginia ‘Ginny’ Krantz: Q’orianka Kilcher
Gus: Matthew Lillard
Bri: Rahul Kohli
Iris: Violet McGraw
Andrea: Saidah Ekulona
Janice Halliday: Annalise Basso
Mac: Andy Grush
Miss Richards: Kate Siegel
Miss Rohrbacher: Samantha Sloyan
Cat McCoy: Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Dylan’s Mom: Amy Biedel
Brent: Franklin Ritch
Brian Krantz: Antonio Raul Corbo
Chuck’s Mother: Molly C Quinn
Clerk: Lily Rose Lumpkin
Ram: Sauriyan Sapkota
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.