Director: M.J. Bassett
Writer: Isabel Bassett, M.J. Bassett (Screenplay)
Starring: Megan Fox, Philip Winchester, Greg Kriek, Brandon Auret, Jessica Sutton, Kenneth Fok
Plot: O’Hara is a mercenary leading a squad of soldiers on their mission to rescue hostages in remote part of Africa. Unfortunately the mission goes wrong and the team are stranded, forced to survive against the local rebels.
Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Rogue starts when Samantha O’Hara (Fox) is leading a team of mercenaries on a extraction mission in Africa, her team includes Joey (Winchester), Mike (Kriek), Elijah (Auret) and Bo (Fok) who must rescue Asilia Wilson (Sutton) from rebels, with the escape plan taking a turn for the worse, the unit find themselves stranded.
The unit takes up shelter in an abandoned poacher farm and quickly learn there is still a lion roaming the land, looking for its latest prey, using the dark to its advantage.
Thoughts on Rogue
Characters – Samantha O’Hara is hired to put the team together for the extraction, she has worked with the team before, even if some of the male members question her position of lead on the operation. She must protect her team, her assets and find rescue against the odds. Joey, Mike, Elijah and Bo are part of the Samantha’s unit, they all have their strengths in combat and they will need to show them. Asilia Wilson is the primary target for extraction, she is being used to control a governor by the rebels, which will see her needing to placed back in the hands of her father. Zalaam is running the rebel group which terrorise the locals, human traffics and poaches the rare animals of Africa, he has built the army of people that will follow his every order.
Performances – Megan Fox continues to come back in roles we wouldn’t have seen her in during her early career, doing everything right through the film, Philip Winchester and Kenneth Fok do steal most of the movie with their excellent chemistry, the laughs through the film.
Story – The story here follows a group of mercenaries who are on an extraction mission, which will see them needing to think on their feet when the rescue takes a turn as well as dealing with a bloodthirsty lion roaming the land they find themselves trapped in. This story does bring us a by the book action concept, mixed with a creature feature, thrown together with a bigger message about a problem going on in the world. We do see how the characters will fall into what we expect, but you can just enjoy the action unfold.
Action – The action in the film is big, with the military operations, lion attacks, which do rely heavily on the CGI creation.
Settings – The settings are used to show the remote location for the attack and for the safety, using the environment to try and find the best way to survive.
Special Effects – The film does rely on the CGI lion, which isn’t very strong and can be seen as one of the biggest weaknesses in the film.
Scene of the Movie – Joey and Bo singing time.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – CGI isn’t good.
Final Thoughts – Rogue is a fun action film that brings Megan Fox back into the spotlight in a new role, while putting the attention on the lion farming industry.
Lionsgate UK presents Rogue on Digital Download 9 November and DVD 16 November
