Interceptor – Intense Non-Stop Action Film
Director: Matthew Reilly
Writer: Stuart Beattie, Matthew Reilly (Screenplay)
Starring: Elsa Pataky, Luke Bracey, Aaron Glenane, Mayen Mehta, Paul Caesar, Belinda Jombwe, Marcus Johnson
Plot: One Army captain must use her years of tactical training and military expertise when a simultaneous coordinated attack threatens the remote missile interceptor station she is in command of.
Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Interceptor starts as missile expert JJ Collins (Pataky) arrives at one of the two major interceptor defence locations the USA has to intercept nuclear missile from Russia, the SBX-1. Before JJ gets to settle in, she finds herself called into action, the other Interceptor has gone dark, a nuclear threat is real.
When the base comes under attack, JJ must step up to stop the terrorist Alexander (Bracey) and his men from taking over the base, leading to a series of showdowns between JJ and Alexander for the future of America.
Thoughts on Interceptor
Characters & Performances – JJ Collins is a missile expert reassigned to the SBX-1 base, a base she was once assigned to for something she has done in that certain military people didn’t agree with, where she was completely right to do what needed to be changed. JJ will need to use all her military skills to defend the control room for her country. She can handle herself in any fight, needing to make the difficult decision about keeping the crew alive against the millions that would be lost if the terrorists get in. Alexander is the terrorist leader trying to get into the control room, he has been planning this mission for six years, turning his back on his country for a price. He is cold, calculated and to the point, he will complete his mission with no questions asked. He has a strict belief he is doing the right thing, even trying to turn JJ and Shah to see what he believes is right. When it comes to the supporting cast we have the other terrorists working for Alexander who each other a different combat situation that JJ must face. Shah is the other solider trapped in the military base, where he will want to help with the tech side of fighting back.
Elsa Pataky is fantastic here, bring the combat skills to excel in the combat situation, she will get to use different fighting styles, against different enemies, while showing the emotional effect she has been through due to misconduct towards her character. She hits the one-liners too, which are staple to a fun action movie. Luke Bracey is great as the cold-hearted terrorist that will do anything to get in, showing the skills his character was trained to bring the expressionless killer. There is a fun cameo in the film, which will bring laughs away from the serious side of the terrorist situation.
Story – Interceptor will follow a military woman demoted for not following advances from generals, who must defend the only standing interceptor for nuclear attack, from terrorist who want to take it and bomb America. The story will bring the real-time factor which will make the threat real throughout the film. This does have an interesting side story of how the military will see the conduct towards women, as JJ finds herself thrown out because of reporting sexual misconduct towards her. Interceptor could easily be compared to Die Hard with how it all unfolds, upping the stakes, with the lone fighter doing the right thing.
Themes – Interceptor is an action adventure thriller that will use the fights between JJ and the terrorists to show how bad ass she is, with some unique kills including the first one, which will pause you for a moment, with a ‘oh shit’ moment. The film keeping everything on the water base, proves how far away the characters are from any help if something goes wrong and how difficult it would be to break into different locations on the base. The real-time factor only adds to the tension in the movie, giving everything an edge of your seat factor.
Final Thoughts – Interceptor is a brilliant edge of your seats actions movie, with Elsa Pataky becomes a major action star.