Outside the Wire [6/10]

Another week, another robot soldier military sci-fi thriller. Set in a near-future somewhere in Ukraine, “Outside the Wire” posits a disgraced drone pilot being mysteriously teamed up with an android officer on a quest to quash nuclear Armageddon. The two leads are handsomely and authoritatively played by Damson Idris and Anthony Mackie respectively, with most of the bit players just plot fodder. Cracking action scenes are a strong feature of the film and the brooding wasteland ambience is well captured. Individual scenes, especially the tense interplay between the two heroes, are well written and directed. At one level, one can surrender to a ho-hum action movie, but the intriguing storyline begs for more skill. Unfortunately, not only is the setup of Outside the Wire cursed by silliness, a sequence of plot twists, clearly intended to be dramatic and unexpected, leaves one shaking one’s head with incredulity. Overall, acceptable entertainment that might have shone.