Interceptor

Movie Name: Interceptor
Year of Release: 2022
Director: Matthew Reilly
Starring: Elsa Pataky, Luke Bracey, Aaron Glenane, Mayen Mehta, Paul Caesar, Belinda Jombwe, Marcus Johnson, Zoe Carides, Kim Knuckey, Deniz Akdeniz, Che Baker, Nick Barker-Pendree
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 1
Watch it on Netflix

Synopsis and Review

Another release hailing from Netflix, "Interceptor" is the feature directorial debut for Matthew Reilly, a well known writer/novelist. The film follows the story of Captain JJ Collins whom we first encounter working in a nuclear missile interceptor base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She is there following a high profile case where she reported sexual misconduct by one of her superiors, which in turn rendered her as a pariah of sorts, which also sparked her deployment to the remote base, as opposed to her dream job in the Pentagon.

Her base is soon attacked and most of her team is killed, with only a few managing to survive, including herself. She and the remaining survivors retreat to the command center, where they notify the events taking place to the chain of command. The attackers are interested in deploying nuclear devices but their main intent is blackmailing governments in order to make money from those threats. As Collins holds her ground, her main opponent Kessel, tries by every means necessary to dissuade her and get access to that control room.

"Interceptor" comes across as a Cannon Films release from the 1980s, either featuring Chuck Norris, Michael Dudikoff or Cynthia Rothrock, all of which had flourishing and prolific careers with that studio during that timeline. It's a film that is trying to be taut and a somewhat sophisticated B-Movie, claiming some classic influences including John McTiernan's "Die Hard" (and even some more modern influences, such as Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario"), where essentially the central hero has to overcome a formidable and apparently far more powerful opponent, only to succeed when everything seems lost. Sadly this film never manages to create characters that have some depth or substance, this being applicable to both the lead, but also the supporting characters, the latter of whom are clichés which are quickly tossed aside. For a film with a central female character, most of her backstory is crudely developed, and not much is expanded upon. It's a film where its premise is fairly engaging, but one where the story development and dialogue were barely finessed, and one where director Matthew Reilly merely illustrates what is on the pages, without adding much nuance, humor or sense of dramatic urgency to what is happening. The cast is sadly also forgettable, while the production team, including cinematographer Ross Emery, try to bring some verisimilitude to what's happening on screen. For all its noise, it's a forgettable endeavor.