Netflix And Chill: Interceptor (2022)

If you want some slick action entertainment that also feels smart and fresh then you need to look elsewhere. Interceptor is not interested in that. It's a ridiculous film that feels like a throwback to a time when every other straight-to-video title was a Die Hard rip-off. That works though, it's sometimes refreshing to watch a film that doesn't want to show off or reinvent action cinema. I'll rewatch every John Wick movie numerous times ahead of this, but I didn't resent the time spent watching this.

Elsa Pataky plays Captain J. J. Collins, an army officer who ends up being the one person in the way of a group of terrorists that want to take control of the remote missile interceptor (hence the title) station under her command. These terrorists possess a number of nuclear weapons, but to follow through on their threat to use those weapons they need to neutralise the interceptor system. Luke Bracey plays Alexander Kessel, the leader of the terrorists, and the film basically amounts to little more than Pataky versus Bracey for most of the runtime.

Ticking the boxes in a way that sometimes feels like it's bordering on parody, Interceptor is comforting in the familiarity it provides. Aside from the backstory that shows why some view Collins as "trouble", this does everything you expect. There are a number of disposable characters, there's someone due to make a major sacrifice when the time is right, there's an enemy who believes in the principles of his mission, and there's even a traitor who you can point to and call "traitor" from their first minute of screentime. 

Debut director Matthew Reilly, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Stuart Beattie (a man with one or two modern classic tucked away in his back catalogue), does a good enough job, despite the fact that someone with a bit more experience may have been able to paper over some of the cracks. Give them their due though, Reilly and Beattie develop a backstory that both develops the central character and also comments on an ongoing problem within, but not exclusive to, the military.

The biggest problem, sadly, is the cast. Pataky isn't bad, and she ends up surprisingly convincing in some of the more ridiculous set-pieces, but she never feels like a strong enough lead (in any sense). Bracey suffers in a different way, his villain being played far too nice in between the occasional moments of ruthlessness. I don't want to name any other cast members because that will just make it even more obvious who is the traitor, who is there to make a noble sacrifice, and who is just standing around until they get shot in the face.

This is fun. No more, no less. It's never remotely believable. It's not as violent or as bloody as it could be. There's a slightly annoying, obviously intended to be cutesy, cameo for Chris Hemsworth (aka Mr. Pataky). It's as predictable as a Hallmark Christmas movie. But it's fun. Which is fine by me.

6/10

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The November Man (2014)

An action thriller from director Roger Donaldson (who has a lengthy filmography that you could call more eclectic than consistent, but is always worth checking out), The November Man makes perfect use of leading man, Pierce Brosnan, and jumps from one set-piece mixing smarts and violence to the next.

The very basic way to explain this movie is that Brosnan plays a retired CIA agent, named Peter Devereaux, who is called back in to service and ends up protecting Mira Filipova (Olga Kurylenko). A lot of people want Mira dead, and the main person heading up the pursuit is David Mason (Luke Bracey), a young man who was trained by Deveraux.

Based on a book by Bill Granger, The November Man is exactly the kind of movie that it shows itself to be from the very first scenes. The wiser elder agent, the hot-headed youngster, some twists and turns, and Brosnan looking unflappable for most of the runtime. 

The script, by Michael Finch and Karl Gajdusek, is decent enough. About as predictable as this sort of thing can do often be, it at least feels satisfying by the time things all come together in the finale. You’re not supposed to know who is actually going to be a hero and who is going to be a villain, but you can figure it all out at least a few steps ahead of the main characters.

Brosnan is on good form, even if he is reusing the kind of performance he already did so well in the Bond movies and The Thomas Crown Affair (as well as a few others from the past couple of decades). Kurylenko does well as the woman in peril, I always like watching her onscreen, and it’s an added bonus to watch one era of Bond work with another era of Bond girl. Bracey is also good in his role, being tough and determined to “win” at all costs, but also still weighed down by his connection to Brosnan’s character. Bill Smitrovich, Will Payton, and Lazar Ristovski all do their part in the main plot, playing various authority figures making life difficult for the lead.

Ultimately a bit too similar to a number of better movies, The November Man is still one that I would recommend to people wanting a bit of action couched in a plot attempting to pretend it is a bit smarter than it really is. It’s paced well, Donaldson directs with enough skill and confidence, there are some decent set-pieces, it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and Brosnan is effortlessly cool throughout.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: Holidate (2020)

Emma Roberts is Sloane, a young woman who dreads any holiday dates in the calendar year, because it is the time for her to be questioned and judged by her family. Luke Bracey is Jackson, a young man we first see caught up in an absolute nightmare of a Christmas scenario with a girlfriend who obviously takes things a lot more seriously than he does. When the two meet up in a queue, while returning unwanted gifts, they realise that they share a very similar problem, and come up with a plan to be a supportive partner for one another during holidays. A holidate. Nothing serious, no need to keep in touch for the rest of the year, just an arrangement that works for both of them. So you know it's going to get a bit messy.

Although I didn't think I was familiar with any work from director John Whitesell (who has done a lot of TV and *shudder* the sequels to Big Momma's House), it turns out that he pleasantly surprised me years ago with Malibu's Most Wanted. I'm not going to highly recommend that to anyone, but I will say that it was better than I expected it to be. And the same goes for Holidate, which is a predictable rom-com with the added appeal of holiday celebrations and foul-mouthed outbursts. It's an enjoyably bawdy film with two lead characters who are enjoyably just a step removed from the perfect humans we usually see in these situations. They're still pretty great, but at least the screw up occasionally.

Writer Tiffany Paulsen started her career with the 2007 Nancy Drew movie, which also starred Emma Roberts, and has a small filmography made up of movies that seem to be mainly aimed at teenaged girls (including a TV movie remake of Adventures In Babysitting that I was unaware of). She knows what to do with these characters, focusing on the main plot and fun dialogue over any main set-pieces (although someone losing a finger provides quite the amusing highlight).

Roberts and Bracey are wonderful together, with the former doing her usual eye-rolling schtick and the latter being a nice guy who enjoys being refreshingly honest with the new woman in his life. Frances Fisher is the pushy mother, Kristin Chenoweth is an aunt who always has a different man for different holidays, and Manish Dayal is Faarooq, a handsome doctor that Sloane's mother wants her to date. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, and Chenoweth and Dayal get to share some scenes that should guarantee one or two extra chuckles. Jessica Capshaw and Andrew Bachelor help to fill out the main cast, although their characters have a third act sub-plot that feels a bit out of place and unnecessary.

If you like Roberts onscreen, and I do, then this is a fun film for her to lead. It sits well within her comfort zone, and it's also a great showcase for the charm and appeal of Bracey. If you like your rom-com sweetness with just a little bit of bitter mixer then this is definitely recommended.

7/10

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