Avengers franchise).
Outside The Wire takes place in the year 2036 during an armed conflict in Eastern Europe, where Russia is once again trying to seize control of Ukraine. The United States has dropped in to “keep the peace” with the help of drones and ground troops, including mechanized foot soldiers known as “Gumps” (presumably because Forrest Gump was the perfect soldier, never questioning orders and never tiring).
Lt. Thomas Harp (
Snowfall,
Black Mirror) is a maverick drone pilot who is pulled from duty after disobeying a direct order, and is sent right into the action on the ground, where he is paired with Leo (Mackie), a top-secret android officer who is on a special mission to stop a nuclear attack. Harp is wary of Leo, who reminds him constantly that they are not partners, that the young LT is his subordinate, and who behaves in a disarmingly human fashion, to the point of cursing constantly and mercilessly teasing his charge. But he’s also in awe of this m
, it feels too generic too often.
Much of what is engaging about Netflix’s latest can be attributed to the compelling lead performances. That brilliant but cold drone pilot Harp would have his perspective changed by experiencing the horrors of war close-up is a given, but rising star Damson Idris brings credibility to his predictable journey. Anthony Mackie is at his entertaining best when Leo Harp’s new, android partner is allowed to wisecrack, and even when Rowan Athale and Rob Yescombe’s screenplay gets bogged down in needless exposition, the shifting dynamic between Harp and Leo each suspicious of the other keeps us on our toes.
Drones have become such an accepted aspect of modern warfare that in the past decade or so, nearly every major action franchise has used them as a raising-the-stakes shortcut. They’ve fallen into the hands of various villains in dystopian futures, like Neill Blomkamp’s
Chappie and
Furious 7, and in all three films of Gerard Butler’s
Olympus Has Fallen series. In Hollywood’s imagination, terrorists really love mechanized weaponry.
But in reality, the use of drones or, in official terminology, “unmanned aerial vehicles” in the American military has grown exponentially, in particular during President Obama’s tenure in office. The principles of killing people while stationed at a desk halfway around the world have been mulled over in feature films (2015’s
Writer: Sera Gamble, John McNamara
Runtime: 60 min
Although the final season of The Magicians failed to meet expectations for many, with all five seasons now on Netflix, it’s the perfect time to jump in if you haven’t already.
The series follows the students of a magic college which airs first on Syfy.
Full List of New Releases on Netflix for January 15th, 2021
9 New Movies Added Today
Double Dad (2021) Netflix Original
Hook (1991)
Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
The Vanished (2020)
What Would Sophia Loren Do? (2021) Netflix Original
WISH YOU: Your Melody from My Heart (2021)
6 New TV Series Added Today
Bling Empire (Season 1) Netflix Original
Movie Review – Outside the Wire (2021)
SYNOPSIS:
In the near future, a drone pilot sent into a war zone finds himself paired with a top-secret android officer on a mission to stop a nuclear attack.
Netflix has made it abundantly clear they’re hoping to capitalise on the present theatrical exodus that’s likely to reach far into 2021, compensating for the ongoing tentpole drought with a deluge of splashy, lavishly budgeted high-concept genre films.
But hopefully the streamer’s 2021 slate won’t begin as it means to go on, because their new sci-fi action romp
Outside the Wire is a flavourless bowl of cinematic tapioca brought to the small screen with total anonymity by journeyman director Mikael Håfström (