An ode to the old school
IF you can look past the blatant feminist propaganda, gluttony of clichés and lazy dialogue, then “Interceptor” is actually a good movie. I know most of you are already wondering what I am on about but bear with me a bit.
I have in the past months made it a point to always express my disdain for remakes, reboots and belated sequels, as they often achieve nothing except ruining the original.
While “Interceptor” is neither a reboot or sequel, it does fall under the remake category.
This is in the sense that the film borrows a lot of its traits from 90s action movies like “Die Hard” and “Under Siege”.
What separates this movie from the many of today and yesteryear action flicks is the fact it adds that bit of drama and puts some feminine touch to its proceedings.
The Netflix movie follows US army captain J.J Collins (Elsa Pataky) recently banished to a remote missile site –used by the United States as the last defence against nuclear attack.
Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the site, or Interceptor base, is one of two of its kind.
When armed assailants attack the other
Interceptor and steal 12 nuclear warheads, they then turn attention to the one located at the sea.
The station gets infiltrated by a small group of operatives led by ex-military intelligence soldier Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey), who promptly kill everyone on board and leave only Collins as the last line of defence.
While not the most epic of plots, credit should, however, go to the duo of Pataky and Bracey. Their performances make this movie serviceable and somewhat entertaining.
The duo’s battle of wits, despite being covered by a litany of corny and clichéd one-liners, is actually entertaining.
Pataky gives her best John McClane impression as she fights the bad guys and tosses up one-liners.
The writers, Stuart Beattie and Matthew Reilly, also add that bit of extra layer to Collin’s character about the inner demons she is fighting.
Apparently, Collins was a victim of sexual harassment from one of her superior officers, a five-star general who gets the backing of the army when she reports him.
Through the use of flashbacks, we get to see how the army handled the issue.
It is one of the well-written subplots of the movie. It gives an insight on how women are treated in the army (or misogyny in the armed forces) and America’s misguided definition of patriotism.
Beattie and Reilly strike the right balance between drama and action, giving all these and other subplots time to breathe yet not turning the film into a lecture or documentary.
There is even a blink-andyou-miss-it cameo from MCU and Australian heartthrob Chris Hemsworth, who apparently is the executive producer of the film.