Office Invasion – Movie Review
Director: Gareth Crocker, Fred Wolmarans
Writer: Gareth Crocker (Screenplay)
Cast
- Rea Rangaka
- Kiroshan Naidoo
- Sechaba Ramphele
- Shadi Chauke
- Neels Clasen
Plot: Three best friends band together to defend their valuable mining company from monstrous aliens looking to plunder and exterminate.
Runtime: 1 Hour 52 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Office Invasion starts as we meet the three best friends who work for AMI. Sam (Rangaka) works with the directors, Prince (Naidoo) an accountant and Junior (Ramphele) a security guard. The three are starting to see problems in the workplace, with the downsizing going on by their managers.
After the business is brought out, the new owners start changing things. With the three friends being the victims of change, they come together with a plan to make money.
Verdict on Office Invasion
Characters
Sam has worked for AMI since the big discovery, he will attend the frontline and works with the directors of the company. He is worried that his boss is looking to sell the company, which will change how his job can be done. Sam needs this job to help keep his daughter’s health up, because of an illness becoming disillusioned about the changes.
Prince is an accountant who hates his job but must keep it to keep his trust fund. He clashes with his boss who knows he is a slacker, as she waits to ruin him. The changes see him given a new role monitoring toilet breaks.
Junior is a timid security guard that can’t even control his living arrangements. He believes he has bad luck in his family, which will see him needing to stand up for himself.
When it comes to the three managers, they are a blend of everything you would hate in the workplace. Walking over their employees, especially the three friends.
Performances
Rea Rangaka is the most grounded of the three, he is also the brains behind the operation. Rea keeps his performance straight-faced compared to the other two.
Kiroshan Naidoo brings to life the slacker of the three, he makes us believe in a character that should be doing a lot better in his life. Sechaba Ramphele brings a nervous employee to life, showing the one that has been struggling the most through life.
The supporting cast brings us the characters that will make us hate them because of their actions in the movie.
Story
The story follows three best friends who work for a mining company that find themselves suffering after a change of management. They look to solve the problem themselves, which sees them uncovering a truth about the new management.
The synopsis for the movie is misleading because most of the story focuses more on a heist concept before we slowly get into the alien side of things. This does a good job at twisting the concept we have been getting, but not enough focus is placed upon it early enough in the movie.
Deeper in the story, there is a message about how big companies are streamlining and making life more difficult for their employees.
Themes
Office Invasion is an action-comedy sci-fi movie. Most of the movie relies on the comedy side of the movie, seeing the awkward work interactions and the heist idea. It does take a long time to get into the movie before we see the sci-fi side of the movie, with the aliens reveal. This also sees the effects held back until late, which brings an effective set of creations to deal with.
Where to Watch: Office Invasion is available on Netflix now.
Final Thoughts – Office Invasion is a fun sci-fi comedy poking fun at the daily work grind.
