Protocol 7 (2024) Movie Review: A desperate and dangerously shallow corporate thriller

For those who are unaware of director Andrew Wakefield’s history before you get into “Protocol 7” with innocent eyes, let’s brush it up a little. Wakefield’s 2016 documentary “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe” became quite the talk of the town when it was included and then dropped from the Tribeca Film Festival.

As a former British gastroenterologist, in 1998, Wakefield was responsible for publishing a paper targeting the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, where he proposed a connection between vaccinated children and the rise of autism cases. His now dunked paper tried to prove that the rising cases of autism were due to the MMR vaccine that Merck produced. The entire case, which is still under scrutiny with no concrete results given so far, cost Wakefield his career in the science with his license revoked.

Now, “Protocol 7,” a pretty straightforward corporate thriller targeting big pharma, might sound like just another addition to the movies fighting the big fight against corporations that often mislead the layman. While there have been known cases of said companies manipulating data and often putting innocent lives at stake, this storyline of uncovering a fraudulent scheme and then putting the big people in its place is itself getting stale.

Eric Roberts as Errani in Protocol 7 (2024).

The film follows Alexis Koprowski (Rachel Whittle), a family lawyer, and Dr. Jay (Matthew Marsden), who meet at an autism conference and, with the help of Steve Schilling (Josh Murray), a virologist turned whistleblower, try to uncover and hold a large pharmaceutical company responsible for failing to test their released mumps vaccine properly.

However, what makes the film more than just a regular thriller and much more dangerous and desperate is how it tries to mend the viewers’ minds. From the outset, you are introduced to three sets of characters with their own standpoints, character quirks, and personal connection to what has essentially ruined their lives. The connection is established with a slow-burn, self-serious tone that tries to question what a company has done to many children in the United States. And then, without diving into any medical theories, proofs, and data, it tries to manipulate you into its anti-vax mindset. To top that off, it also claims that it is anything but anti-vax, which makes it all the more dangerous.

I would have passed it off as a drab, shallow thriller that is just trying to put the Big Pharma monster in its place. They are not heroes in the first place. Additionally, the actors are clearly dedicated to playing these people with whatever they have got. But, it does a great disservice to being a fictional account when it names and shames the company in its closing credits. You are then clearly aware that the whole idea of the movie is to manipulate the viewers to partake in its propaganda. And when that’s the case, I draw a clear line there, even when it asks me to be the judge, jury, and possibly – the executioner.