Lucas Reta

Great acting, good action sequences, good premise, but ultimately the writing doesn't hold up. The movie starts with a really strong setup: a desensitized drone pilot overrides the chain of command, making a decision that ultimately results in two collateral deaths by friendly fire. This premise alone seems a very prescient one, which could be deeply explored and garner interesting results. Of course, going in I wasn't expecting a dissertation on the psychological impact of death on remote pilots (though that would also be an interesting watch), but the introduction raised my expectations: perhaps there was some insight to be gained from this popcorn flick, that had drawn me in on the promise of cyborg action. Unfortunately, we quickly realize the inciting incident becomes barely an excuse for the main story line, which I will not spoil. I'll only say that it dwells on something we've seen many times before, and it doesn't succeed to bring anything new to the table. The setting (future Ukraine) is an interesting choice, but they fail to make it very compelling. There were a few good action sequences, though not as much as I'd expected from the trailer and my preconception of the film. Direction on these scenes is above average, you get to see some nice fire-fights and close combat beatings. Both main actors give a solid performance, especially Damson Idris (at least in the first two thirds), though there is an even further decline in quality of the script towards the end, which makes for some rough scenes. Michael Kelly gives a great performance as well. It's a watchable movie, but it missed a lot of opportunities. Fast-paced and enjoyable, it's watchable if you go in with low expectations.