Outside the wire
Netflix
Presenter: Anthony Mackie, Damson Idris, Emily Beecham, Michael Kelly, Pilou Asbæk
Rated: 6/10
There is a thrill that comes with watching an action-thriller and when that is embellished with sci-fi the experience of watching the same is at another level. It goes without saying that one must enjoy this genre otherwise it can be a drag as one tries to grapple with what is unfolding.
The storyline is simple enough to begin with — bring down a madman all set to wage a war against the US by going after the nukes that are in hiding. The curve ball? The setting is 2036 with a Civil War in Europe.
Then there is the whole thing about using machines to fight this unrest and caught in between are the locals who only want peace and go on with their lives. Machines fighting? Sound familiar? Remember the Terminator series? Outside The Wire takes that on to a whole new dimension — a humanoid — a prototype — capable of doing things out-the-box; a lean mean fighting machine but capable of emotions. Definitely dangerous because it means it can think independently of its maker.
Outside The Wire directed by Mikael Hafstrom is definitely an ambitious project that starts off on a rather intriguing idea and keeps one engaged for the majority of the film. Anthony Mackie who is also one of the producers here pairs up with Damon Idris, plays the role of an android officer rather well. The downer is that the movie somewhat looses its steam as it progresses to become a film that is all about killing the enemy — the US — in order for to stop its android soldiers’ project since the prototype has gone rogue.
The repetitive shoot-out are a drag but those who love bullets flying at the drop of a hat would love this one. After all to watch machines go all out is what action thrillers are all about even if the climax is a bit of a let down given a good start.