Minions: The Rise Of Gru

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Minions: The Rise Of Gru is the second Minions film and the fifth film in the Despicable Me series. In this prequel, we come to see how Gru worked with the minions to become one of the more noteworthy supervillains, even facing down his heroes: the Vicious Six. At long last I'm watching a Despicable Me film again and it feels like there is genuine thought put into the story and that it actually pays genuine homage to the stories that have come before it. What will strike you from the go is how interested this film is in inviting you back to the story in a unique manner. We get a brilliant introduction into the 70s era setting, followed by a thrilling look at the Vicious Six conducting a heist that will grant them insurmountable power. The whole sequence concludes with the main villain we've been following, Wil Knuckles, being betrayed by his teammates and left for dead; cutting to a James Bond opening number parody conducted by the Minions. It's a really funny but also compelling start to the feature for an audience member of any age and it sets the standard the film pretty consistently tries to meet throughout. This film actually found the goldmine for a prequel that the first Minions missed entirely, and that is the inclusion of a very young Gru. Seeing how Gru came to accept the Minions and actually take care of them is excellent foreshadowing to the three girls he adopts later in life. More than this we get to see him as an ambitious villain that does bad things in a way that makes you root for him, even befriending his idol: Wild Knuckles. The father/son relationship between Wild Knuckles and Gru is really important in setting up our young protagonist to be the villain with a code of honour that he grows up to become. The number of careful little links and nods back to fan favourite moments from throughout the franchise is very endearing and shows a lot of care was put into this script.

The animation for this film shows that Illumination has advanced at long last, you get good detail in the character models and how lighting is applied to an animated scene. I also found the score of the film to provide an upbeat adventurous tone that really suited the antics at hand. The soundtrack is a massive win that highlights a number of 70s era songs to set the scene and enhance the comedic effect. This is the first time in a long time that I've found the Minions performing well known songs to actually be funny.

 

Pierre Coffin, who voiced the Minions, found a way to make these things fun characters again; not only does Coffin display great comedic delivery but he really goes to an effort to pitch each key Minion he voices in a distinct way. Taraji P. Henson, who voiced Belle Bottom, is immediately as iconic as Jason Segel's Vector or Trey Parker's Balthazar Bratt; Henson has a commanding presence that makes her a villainous leader worth fearing. Michelle Yeoh, who voiced Master Chow, is the shining light in what is one of the weaker plotlines of the film; Yeoh hams up the wise martial arts master routine to nice comedic effect. Russell Brand, who voiced Dr. Nefario, is a very welcome return to the series; hearing the endearing way with which he takes Gru under his wing makes for a fantastic origin of how the pair first met. Alan Arkin, who voiced Wild Knuckles, is this gruff old supervillain who is fighting everyone who wants to betray him and phase him out; I loved seeing this character and Gru genuinely bond with one another and teach the other to do good for those they care about.

However, the best performance came from Steve Carell, who voiced Gru. The best part of a lot of these movies is hearing Carell's nasally supervillain voice warble out of the cinema speakers. But there's something even more fun at hearing him pitch that voice softer to give the impression of Gru as a kid. In this film we see Gru as more of an outcast figure who is immensely lonely and doing his level best to recognise his dream of being a villain. But either because there is no one there to help him or no one believes in him, he keeps coming up against barriers. But seeing this young protagonist show care for those who need it in spite of his villainous goals marks this depiction of Gru as one of the most likeable yet. It was great hearing the chemistry Carell and Arkin crafted together in painting a sort of father/son duo. I especially loved hearing Carell's eulogy for Wild Knuckles at the end of the feature, both a very heartfelt yet surprisingly funny scene.

The first act and a lot of the second act of this film really shine as a great animated feature, but somewhere along the way the same pitfalls the first Minions film and Despicable Me 3 had rear their head. These films can have a great plot but if they're running short or need to fill space? They chuck in an often aimless Minions sub-plot that never feels aligned to the main story. In this feature we have a Minion called Otto who always seems off on bumbling adventures that really take us away from the more interesting parts of the film. Yet worse than that, we have Kevin, Stuart and Bob trying to rescue Gru by undergoing kung fu training extremely late in the feature. This entire story seems like a whole separate thing to what we had otherwise been watching thus far, and watching three Minions learn kung fu for twenty minutes never really justified itself. In fact the way their training was incorporated into the final fight made the third act come off as being a little rushed.

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lungren, Lucy Lawless and Danny Trejo, who voiced Jean Clawed, Svengeance, Nunchuk and Stronghold respectively, are collectively such extreme wastes of phenomenal talent; none of these characters get more screen time than a goon would despite their prominent role in the film.

I haven't enjoyed a film in the Despicable Me franchise this much since the first one. I would give Minions: The Rise Of Gru a 7/10.

Elvis

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Elvis is a biopic following the rise to stardom of Elvis Presley, chiefly narrated through the lens of Elvis' corrupt manager: Colonel Tom Parker. It takes a very long time for the narrative to find its feet but once the film confidently hands the story off to Elvis so we can see and understand his character it becomes a fascinating watch. You understand that in his time period the man was quite a radical type of entertainer, he pushed a perception of what was appropriate and revolutionized white America through the introduction of rock and roll. The struggles we see of Elvis resisting attempts to stifle his style of performance is fascinating, it's very bold and the repercussions quite unique. Ultimately the most compelling part of this whole feature is the relationship between Elvis and his manager, Colonel Parker. Parker is the money-hungry antagonist of the film, he follows Elvis around like the man is a money magnet. Watching the ways Parker manipulates Elvis and his image, the nature of the performer's very career for the sake of profit, is deeply disturbing. There are great punchy moments in the script where Elvis revels against his manager but ultimately Elvis is steadily beaten down and treated like a cash cow, the nature of his performance surviving even if the man doesn't. While I have few kind words to say about the soundtrack arrangement for Elvis none of that is really directed at the vocal performance of Austin Butler; the way he captures the sound of Elvis is worth the price of admission if nothing else. Baz Luhrmann is an experienced master when it comes to capturing a visual piece, he crafts a visual that moves with the story of Elvis while also highlighting Elvis and how Elvis affected others with a sort of reverence.

 

Austin Butler, who played Elvis, immerses himself into this role completely; Butler is at his best when he shows Elvis feeling caged and wanting to break out - truly impactful scene work. Olivia DeJonge, who played Priscilla, is a real powerhouse despite her small screen time; DeJonge presents a woman who is fighting for the sake of her life and those she loves. Richard Roxburgh, who played Vernon, crafts this father figure who feels utterly impotent and it's great; seeing Roxburgh become more and more crestfallen as he feels less able to aid his son is such a subtle yet brilliant performance. Kelvin Harrison Jr., who played B.B. King, is a real scene stealer in this and is far and away the best part of the first act; watching this man make cool and steady observations of the music scene and the world around him and Butler's Elvis marks him as a very wise figure.

 

However, the best performance came from Tom Hanks, who played Colonel Tom Parker. There is no one in this cast who has the same incredible range and years of experience that Hanks has, so it should come as no surprise that he steals the show. What may surprise some readers however, is that Hanks' character is the lens through which Elvis' story is told to us. From the top of the film Hanks introduces himself as this sly unreliable narrator. He is a distrustful voice dangling a good story before us, which cuts a great introduction for his role but also lends some intrigue to the start of the feature. As we go along we come to see the Colonel as a man possessed of immeasurable avarice, who preys upon people of talent to line his own pockets. The ways Hanks spins possibility for people sounds too good to be true, and it often is. The glee with which he saddles Elvis with merchandise and sponsors makes the main protagonist seem more object than person in the Colonel's eyes. Indeed, the last act of the film is a potent struggle between Hanks and Butler in which the Colonel pulls some extremely devious tactics to retain extreme amounts of control over Elvis Presley. A real reprobate of a character that it becomes extremely hard to even believe that it's Tom Hanks playing him.

 

This film is one I really grappled with, I didn't know a lot about Elvis going in so I leaned on what the film had to tell me. However, in saying that the first act of the film struggled to say much at all. Often Elvis was seen from a distance and it took a very long time to get dialogue from the man, let alone his first performance. In fact there were times throughout the piece where I felt this wasn't really an Elvis story so much as it was a film about Colonel Tom Parker and his exploitation of Elvis. The film kept showing big events in American history, such as the deaths of JFK or Martin Luther King Jr., and dangled them out as if Elvis was tied to those moments. But the film never really fully realises these moments it teases, in fact there's a lot the film teases but then neglects going into the more complicated issues. The most glaring one is Elvis and his relationship with the African-American community. Elvis performed a lot of Black music, took a lot of his moves and fashion from the Black community too. The film acknowledges that Elvis took his sound from "Black American Rhythm and blues" as Baz Luhrmann puts it, but the question becomes is that enough? The film identifies Elvis has these connections but it never shapes a perspective on whether Elvis was right to uses Black culture the way he did. It makes for a very murky start to the film, giving a real lacking sense of direction and sullies the protagonist somewhat. The film also quickly pushes Elvis into his relationship with Priscilla, but very quickly skirts past the fact she's 14 and therefore underage. This is a film that has identified one struggle with the Colonel that is easy to tell, and it's very clear by the final act that that plotline is all Luhrmann really has an interest in exploring. This is Elvis, but it's the shiny biopic that spotlights all the meaty bits and shies away from the tougher storytelling opportunities. I often found the editing style chopped and changed an appalling amount, nothing in these unique moments of transition or cutting felt consistent. The score had these big barrages of sound that could well have been from a blockbuster film and felt very out of place; the soundtrack having modern hip hop and Elvis covers spliced throughout was abominable. The film Elvis is curtailed by an Eminem rap song which might be the most appalling thing I've ever seen done in a musician biopic. 

Helen Thomson, who played Gladys, made Elvis' relationship with his mother feel almost creepy; Thomson rarely played her character in a way that spoke of affection so much as it did obsession. David Wenham, who played Hank Snow, is quite a muted character in the first act; his role doesn't really generate interesting conflict with Hanks at all. Luke Bracey, who played Jerry Schilling, gets pushed out as a main character quite abruptly and never finds his footing; Bracey is a tough sell as one of Elvis' friends because he has extremely little chemistry with Butler in their scenes together. Dacre Montgomery, who played Steve Binder, doesn't feel as worldly and as experienced as a musical producer of his calibre should; Montgomery really doesn't grapple with Hanks well and it feels like he should be pushing the role a little further.

Much like its depiction of Elvis Presley, this is a very wild and fevered biopic. I would give Elvis a 6.5/10.

 

 

Lightyear

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Lightyear is presented to the audience as the film that Andy from Toy Story would've seen in cinemas. The film itself follows Buzz Lightyear, a Space Ranger who scouts out alien worls on behalf of Star Command. However, when he makes an error that maroons his entire crew on a scouting mission he gives an entire lifetime trying to find a solution to their malfunctioning hyperspeed crystal. This film has a really inspired first act once it really gets going. Watching Buzz realise that his hyperspeed test flights mean that a few minutes for him is a time jump of four years for the colony on the planet is a huge plot development. You get to see Buzz push himself to right his mistakes while missing the chance of living alongside the people he is working for, most significantly his friend and commander, Alisha. Seeing snapshots of Alisha's life as she takes charge of the colony, falls in love, has a child, grows old, becomes a grandmother and ultimately, perishes, is extremely moving. This woman is Buzz's inspiration and truest friend and he only sees glimpses of her and the love she gets to have, never quite being a part of it himself. The scene in which he comes back planetside to find her deceased is really moving and the emotional peak of the film. Beyond this watching Izzy try to measure up to her grandmother's legacy and Buzz's expectations of her is probably the most rewarding main character arc to watch in the film. The animation is right up to Pixar's high standards, I loved seeing the unique way they detailed the spaceships and space travel.

 

Chris Evans, who voiced Buzz Lightyear, really brings Buzz to more of an action hero vibe; Evans may not be the best Lightyear portrayal but he certainly leads the film solidly. Keke Palmer, who voiced Izzy Hawthorne, brings such enthusiastic energy to her role; Palmer portraying the insecurity her character has around not measuring up to her family name is so well portrayed. Uzo Aduba, who voiced Alisha Hawthorne, comes across as a charismatic leader who helms her expedition with great care; I loved the tender friendship developed between Aduba and Evans' roles. Isiah Whitlock Jr., who voiced Commander Burnside, is definitely a tougher brand of authority for the space colony; I loved how Whitlock really placed himself as a role that tended towards barking orders and making a show of force in a nice contrast to Aduba's role.

However, the best performance came from Peter Sohn, who voiced SOX. This is a small cat android designed to be akin to a therapy animal which is immediately endearing. Sohn presents this feline robot as gentle, softly spoken and attentive. The moments of learning and care he expresses to Buzz upon their initial introduction makes for one of my favourite onscreen friendships. I loved seeing this character persevere towards aid and assistance always, while steadily landing more brilliant quips the further into the adventure he got. Seeing Sohn's range of comedy by having him verbally make the robot sounds or generate parodies of cat behaviour was hysterical but also character-defining. SOX is a role that is designed to be liked because he is so compassionate and present for the other characters of the film; truly this is one of Sohn's finest voice performances yet.

I'm quite a big fan of Disney/Pixar films, which is far from a controversial stance. These studios have often been associated with the golden standard of animated films to a degree their competitors have always struggled to come close to. Over the past couple of years, we've watched a smattering of great Pixar features confined to a Disney Plus release instead of a chance to debut in theatres; features such as Soul, Luca  and Turning Red. Pixar has expressed frustrations around this, which is more than fair given the quality of these features. So to finally have a Pixar film debuting in cinemas should've been a treat, But the truth of it is, Lightyear is just a fine feature and probably their weakest offering in the past five years. The film starts rather rapidly, introducing Buzz and Alisha without doing any leg work on establishing them or anchoring them with much backstory. Something I think a lot of people are going to struggle with is Buzz himself; the character is tough to warm to at times. He takes things extremely seriously, often broods and is straight up rude to people he assumes is incompetent. The fact Buzz's entire character arc boils down to him realising he has to work with others better is rather disappointing when compared to the brilliant arc written for Izzy. The story feels quite generic in a lot of ways, Buzz is defending a valuable crystal the bad guy wants and after a lot of laser firefights Buzz gives up his mission/crystal in order to save his team from the robot baddie. The antagonist looks cool but doesn't ever feel like a major threat; especially not after his true identity is revealed. The film reveals that Zurg is none other than an older Buzz from an alternate timeline/future who wants to reset the mistake both Buzz's collectively made all those years ago. Trying to wrap your head around how older Buzz even works as a villain is a losing battle, nor is his big 'evil' plan really that despicable. In fact if Zurg had succeeded it might also have been seen as a good thing, but the film's moral around Buzz learning teamwork wouldn't have been realised. I also have to say after Giacchino's brilliant work on Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman it has been almost disappointing to hear his work on Jurassic World: Dominion and now Lightyear. The score throughout is peppy and light generic fanfare for your typical action-adventure flick which is all this animated story amounts to. Lightyear will eternally be dwarfed by Toy Story and the high quality of work we've come to expect from Pixar.

Taika Waititi. who voiced Mo Morrison, is one of the more underwhelming members of Lightyear's team; Waititi's character is only really defined by his cowardice and doesn't offer enough opportunity for Waititi's comedic range. Dale Soules, who voiced Darby Steel, is just present as two-dimensional comedic relief; but the crotchety old lady role has been done to death in better ways already. James Brolin, who voiced Zurg, is disappointing as the film's antagonist; Brolin does a poor impression of Evans' Buzz and never finds a way to make his depiction of Buzz menacing or relatable.

Lightyear informs us that this is the film that got young Andy from Toy Story to get himself a Buzz Lightyear toy, which is nonsense because clearly he'd want a SOX the Cat toy. I would give Lightyear a 6/10.

Jurassic World: Dominion

 This review may contain spoilers!

 

Jurassic World: Dominion is the third film in the Jurassic World series and showcases the fallout after dinosaurs escape into mainland America and the greater world. Owen and Claire must go to great lengths to protect their adopted daughter, while Ellie Sattler, Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm reunite to prevent a evil corporate mogul from bringing about the extinction of mankind. What I enjoyed about this film chiefly exists in the back half of the second act and a lot of the third act. This is because this block of the feature gave a number of scenes that showed our main characters hiding, running and attempting to survive dinosaur attacks. These are moments of pure tension and terror, in which prehistoric predators that should never even exist hun. When the film hits those moments I'm reminded of why the Jurassic series has such a massive following that dates right back to the original film in 1993. I liked that each storyline had a silver lining to it as well, a hook for the audience. Owen and Claire's antics were the blockbuster big action moments; with the Malta chase scene being a major favourite for me. Meanwhile Ellie, Alan and Ian had a really intriguing storyline with a nice sprinkling of espionage in the mix. The cinematography really speaks to the scale of this feature; it's impressive to see such expansive SFX vistas or hurtling action shots captured in true Trevorrow blockbuster fashion. The visual effects used to capture each dinosaur design is so varied and unique, in my opinion far and away the best part of the film is the effects. I also felt Giacchino made quite and adventurous and at times foreboding score; it's far from the best heard in the series but it hits all the right cues.

 

Chris Pratt, who played Owen Grady, has led these films well as the death-defying action hero; watching Pratt play a man struggling to be a father is actually a nice and fitting spin for Owen. Bryce Dallas Howard, who played Claire Dearing, is a performance that I've struggled with the past two films but Howard really finds herself this time around; playing a mother going to the ends of the Earth to save her daughter is the brave streak this character really needed. Laura Dern, who played Ellie Sattler, steals the show constantly throughout the film; Dern is immediately charismatic as the rebellious scientist in pursuit of justice. Sam Neill, who played Alan Grant, feels timeless as the stoic dinosaur expert reluctantly thrust into danger; Neill's a more cautious action hero than Pratt and often sees the danger of the scenarios they are in. DeWanda Wise, who played Kayla Watts, is a perfect example of a poorly written character made great by the actor; Wise is a firecracker with her line delivery and is easily one of the coolest new additions to the Jurassic cast. Mamoudou Athie, who played Ramsay Cole, is this charismatic corporate spy that pairs really well with Goldblum's character arc; I found Athie to be a compelling rival to our corporate antagonist.

However, the best performance came from Jeff Goldblum, who played Ian Malcolm. Goldblum just might have found a way to make Malcolm more interesting to watch than the other 3 times he has portrayed the character. In this feature we see Ian Malcolm as an intensely charismatic lecturer, who ponders the ethics around genetic manipulation and bringing extinct species back from the dead. I found Goldblum's passionate speeches around humanity's lack of empathy towards these creatures fascinating and extremely heartfelt. I also loved seeing his immediate chemistry reunited with Dern and Neill, this trio really led Dominion beautifully. Watching goldblum initially portray a beaming corporate stooge to unveilling a more focused spy on the inside was a great hook for his role. More than this I was overjoyed to see him cast off this ruse and stand up to the main antagonist face to face, hurling insults with an incredible amount of dignity. From that point Goldblum gets to turn to more of an adventuring role, with a quick wit and a drifting dialogue delivery that smacked of improvisation. The film even dedicates him a full blown showdown with a major alpha predator that blew me away completely.

Jurassic World: Dominion flourishes when it tries to hook the audiences with the terror of an impending dinosaur attack, but it takes a very long time to get there. This is a long film and the first and second acts spend long stretches of time passing the ball back and forth between the Owen/Claire storyline and the Ellie/Alan/Ian one. The problem with this is an issue much akin to the first Jurassic World film: pacing. The film spends so long explaining and setting things up that it fails to really take the time to hook the audience in, banking on the fact we've sat through five of these films already. The film opens with lengthy exposition bridging the gap between Fallen Kingdom and Dominion so that we can understand how a handful of dinos in an auction house spread globally. The film really wants us to hate big expansive corporations this time around; having the main threat be a prehistoric hybrid locust crafted to attack crops. Not only is this such a strange choice for a world that is normally motivated by dinosaurs but once again the Jurassic World creators seem adamant to craft villainous monster-creatures that are a fusion of different beasts. While I didn't mind the human clone storyline of Fallen Kingdom, it's all too clear they struggled to know how to continue it in this one. Having Maisie Lockwood treated like a plot device hunted for her value diminished her growth as a character. But it's worse than that really; the film reveals Blue the raptor can give birth asexually and so did Maisie's mother (her genetic donor). It's a pretty morally grey area for the film and they skip over it pretty quick but it's a weird arc for this young character and leads us down a genetic subplot that really makes little sense. I felt the CEO antagonist who was clearly meant to be more of a Bezos/Musk archetype to be a little on the nose; he was scripted to be two-dimensional and sinister which took the punch out of him thematically. Overall, the whole film does this quite a lot. The big themes of man vs. nature used to be subtle and interesting; this film has Alan Grant look dead in the camera and say, "this isn't about us", while a T-rex and genetic hybrid alpha predator fight in the background.

Isabella Sermon, who played Maisie Lockwood, lost whatever she had going for her in Fallen Kingdom; seeing Sermon's role boil down to an angsty teen who mimics her adoptive Dad's character by taming raptors felt like a bit of a letdown. Campbell Scott, who played Lewis Dodgson, is all over the show in this feature; I have to wonder if the man had direction at all because he often seemed confused at how best to portray his antagonist role. BD Wong, who played Dr. Henry Wu, is a role that I usually quite enjoy but they missed the mark with this one; seeing Wong portray a shell of his character who had 'seen the light' and wanted to do good felt insincere to the character. Omar Sy, who played Barry Sembène, is a character I don't think anyone really missed from the first Jurassic World; Sy never found a way to make himself known in this series and his brief time in this film is equally forgettable. Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda, who played Franklin Webb and Dr. Zia Rodriguez respectively; feel like they are shuffled out of this film as swiftly as possible after the events of Fallen Kingdom; inexplicably Smith is given the greater screen time of the two despite having the worse screen presence. Dichen Lachman, who played Soyona Santos, is antagonist that really hams up her time on screen; Lachman enjoys playing to the melodrama with her antagonists which works poorly here. Kristoffer Polaha, who played Wyatt Huntley, is a rather boring henchman character; he is there to be present in the action chase scenes more than he is to portray a character. Jasmine Chiu, who played Gemma Zhao, is a geyser of exposition we really didn't need; I feel bad for Chiu because she is our introduction to the film which is a big responsibility to fumble so severely.

There's a line delivered by Jeff Goldblum in which he says, "Jurassic World, not a fan." Which sums up my feelings pretty well. I would give Jurassic World: Dominion a 6/10.

Interceptor

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Interceptor sees Captain J.J. Collins defend a remote missile interceptor station against a mercenary terrorist strike, with 16 major American population centres on the line. I found the storyline in this film that was most interesting was the one that wasn't always given the most focus nor was it strongly written throughout. But the discussion around sexual misconduct within the American military perpetrated against female soldiers was well voiced. It comes at a very timely moment in the social media age, in which female vets are finding their voice online and sharing these sorts of stories; so it gave a lot more weight to the protagonist to see her have such a serious issue to have grappled with. The immense courage Collins displays in exposing what she went through and then enduring the abuse and toxic fallout from doing the right thing is far more fascinating than any other struggle against terrorists seen at any other point in the film.

 

Luke Bracey, who played Alexander, actually made for a decent antagonist in spite of the script he was working with; Bracey had this malicious way of attempting to manipulate others and one of the best scenes in the film was when you saw him start to lose control of his operation.

However, the best performance came from Chris Hemsworth, who played TV Salesman. It's a strange pick on my part to choose a cameo with a couple of minutes of screen time. In my defense, I wasn't really spoilt for choice given some of the performances from the main cast and the quality of the script. In fact watching Hemsworth's scenes was like watching little comedic bits from an entirely different feature. The role had quite an everyday, nonchalant charm to him. I really liked that he was so slouched and oblivious in the face of danger. While everyone else was fleeing for their lives we get Hemsworth's sales rep watching the emergency broadcast feed like it's engrossing reality TV. Hemsworth is a performer with a lot more experience and talent than his co-stars in this, so it doesn't take much for his natural humour to really shine.

Sometimes you hit those action movies that just doggedly do not care, they have no brainpower put into them and the characters are far from compelling. This film is almost immediately recognisable as one of those from the first few scenes. Our main protagonist is stony faced and tough as nails, with a quick one-liner handy whenever required. Interceptor is frustrating because it feels so out of date, a lot of the tone of the feature made me think of b-list 70s or 80s action films. There is a focus on minimal settings, easy stunts and a convoluted bad guy plot foiled by a hero who really goes through no semblance of character development. The antagonists for the film all have very conflicting motivations and perceptions of America, yet somehow they all work together well enough. Worse than this the main antagonist is the son of a billionaire who is condemning every concievable wrong America perpetrates while also working for money himself. The film tends to enjoy contradicting itself like this on a regular basis. Seeing our protagonist go through a number of motivating speeches that all practically state Americans just 'keep on fighting' no matter the problem wears thin, essentially the film's theme is that Americans can do anything if they persevere. It's not a message that rings true in the context of the film or the world watching this film. The camera work shows a confused hand at the director's chair; often there are sudden choices like slo-mo shots or dramatic zooms or the character suddenly in motion that feel clunky and poorly placed. The amount of times I had to watch the film peel back to very average crane and coptor shots was abysmal. The special effects used in the feature spoke to a poor budget, the missile scenes looked glaringly bad and really needed to be better detailed. Michael Lira's score for Interceptor is easily the worst thing about it, I often felt like I was watching the simplistic and punchy score of a direct to TV kids action movie rather than this Netflix original R-rated feature.

Elsa Pataky, who played Captain J.J. Collins, proves that she is incapable of leading a blockbuster feature in almost every scene of the film; Pataky delivers bland one-liners with such a monotonous manner that it is hard to get really caught up in the moment. Aaron Glenane, who played Beaver Baker, is probably the most generic portrayal of a redneck I've seen in film recently; watching Glenane labour on with his "I'm a patriot" tirades gets pretty repetitive. Mayen Mehta, who played Corporal Rahul Shah, really plays up his role's meek side; I often found Mehta to be the quietest member of the cast and he never made his presence strongly known in a scene. Belinda Jombwe, who played Ensign Washington, is a weirdly perky character which clashed with the morose military tone; Jombwe just doesn't seem to inhabit the military setting at all which makes her performance oddly jarring so early in the film. Marcus Johnson and Zoe Carides, who played General Dyson and President Wallace respectively, are very two-dimensional figures of authority in this; Carides in particular is a hard sell as a presidential figure. Colin Friels, who played Frank Collins, has no chemistry whatsoever with his on-screen daughter Pataky; I thought his line delivery was certainly as bad though. Rhys Muldoon, who played Lieutenant Colonel Clark Marshall, is oddly presented as a father.mentor figure to Pataky but the pair still seemed so detached from one another; Muldoon never commands with authority which undercut the nature of his character.

 

If you told me this was made forty to fifty years ago I'd probably believe you, it comes off as a very outdated style of action feature. I would give Interceptor a 1.5/10.