Every stock market participant kept wondering why Netflix’s stock was crashing this past month. The numbers were okay. The guidance was healthy with a small caveat: subscribers were dwindling. And to keep them stable, it had to come out with new, refreshing content that revived the streaming giants’ lost mojo. Well, it can be safely said, ‘Interceptor’ won’t be doing it any favors. It marks, for me, another Netflix original that falls significantly short of making any meaningful inroads to put up a decent show. It stands for all that is wrong with Netflix’s strategy to push for films that think they can attract eyeballs with filtered action scenes and a supposedly big celebrity name (no, it is not Chris Hemsworth).
The film is essentially a single location setup of a rig, called the SBX-1, which is one of the “interceptors” that the US deploys to counter any threat of nuclear missiles. The other, Fort Greely, is overtaken by terrorists. SBX-1 soon sees the insiders betraying the nation and newly appointed Captain JJ Collins has the difficult task to save the country after the Colonels on board are shot dead. Can she do it all alone, with sparing help from Corporal Shah? The answer is obviously yes. We saw it from a long way out. Hell, the writers saw that even before they began to write the script.
Well, “write the script” would be too much of a compliment for the screenplay. There is no writing, no direction, no nothing that could have made ‘Interceptor’ watchable. Everything about this Netflix film is a blot on the subscription money you pay on a monthly basis. The shocking reality of its universe is even more divergent than the actual events that we see on screen. In the name of a thematic tone, creators think merging a terrorist threat and feminine-centric undertones of modern-day movements can pass for a story. Outside the rig, I am not even kidding, the film would make for a brilliant spoof of such genre films.
When an astrologer-like person comes in that time of adversity and says that Captain Collins has a 14% chance to execute her plan, I genuinely thought the movie would have revealed that it is actually a spoof. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. The torture trudged on. The toothless and pathetic writing seems to be a product of the writers studying years of screenplays from the last twenty years and copy-paste them all into one script. The unconvincing dialogue is so bad, that it makes you cringe when the actors actually say those lines.
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And I greatly sympathize with the actors. There is absolutely no support from any key personnel to use them in a productive manner. Without any credible direction or cues, they are a part of a big sinking ship that sinks even before setting sail. Even when the project was not released, it was bound to fail. The monstrous crimes that have been committed by making this film should be punished – and they will, in the court of the people. Elsa Pataky (Collins) appears to be the right person to pull off the action scenes. Her chiseled body and compelling facial expressions have the potential for an action star. But that alone cannot translate into the above. The scenes are laughable, poorly executed, and bereft of logic. The last point also extends to the film as a whole also.
My biggest beef is not anyone associated with the actual making of the film but those who chose these people. The production has messed up big time by appointing the wrong “kind of” personnel. Director Matthew Reilly is clueless in his debut. He lacks the instincts or the vision to direct a movie. Probably the best for everyone if he sticks to writing the airport novels that are easier sells than this. And when a central figure on set has no assertiveness and conviction, one can only imagine what the end product will look like. ‘Interceptor’ is bad; so bad, that I dare you to press the play button and watch the entire film without skipping a scene or getting out of your seat. It should never have been made and instead, a short film revolving around Chris Hemsworth as that electronics salesman seeing the live telecast of the operation would have been a better idea.
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