“Outside the Wire” is the superficially subversive but ultimately forgetful story of a disgraced drone pilot who, in the distant future of 2036, is assigned to the command of a combat cyborg whom he teams up with to prevent nuclear armageddon.
Directed by Mikael Håfström and written by Rob Yescombe and Rowan Athale, it features recurring action star Anthony Mackie and “Snowfall” lead Damson Idris in the main roles, supported by Emily Beecham, Michael Kelly, Pilou Asbæk, Kristina Tonteri-Young and Bobby Lockwood. The film is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Set in war-torn Ukraine, the film begins with an unconventional way to endear the audience to the drone pilot protagonist: have him ruthlessly kill two of his fellow service members to take out an enemy vehicle, while blatantly disobeying the orders of his commanding officer no less. This lands 1st Lt. Thomas Harp, who has never set foot on a battlefield, in prison for the rest of his life.
Well, this would have happened in real life, but this is, after all, an action movie. So, instead, Harp is assigned to the singularly named Captain Leo, an advanced fourth-generation android soldier. Harp soon learns that he was specifically picked by Leo to accompany him on a dangerous mission. Under the guise of delivering vaccines, they aim to obtain intelligence on a pro-Russian warlord attempting to gain the codes to Cold War-era nuclear weapons, which would give him the potential to end the world as we know it.
The film makes a superficial attempt at saying something substantive and intelligent about the modern state of war. The opening shows some of this promise, with a stinging critique of the depersonalization of drone warfare.
As the U.S. Marines are desperate to make it through a chaotic warzone, Harp is calmly sitting in his chair, utterly removed from the horror he is watching. Backing this up is the introduction of the “Gumps,” robotic soldiers that were recently created and are slowly replacing their flesh-and-blood counterparts. They are soulless automatons who kill without a thought and present a horrifying vision of automated combat, best illustrated in a scene during the film’s midsection where they slaughter several civilians in a crossfire.
The expositional texts make reference to a “peace-keeping” operation conducted by the U.S. to protect Ukraine from pro-Russian insurgents, but it soon becomes clear how this mission statement is clearly a flimsy pretext for the U.S. to sow chaos in the former territory of its long-time enemy. This plot point does add a layer of commentary to the narrative, but only a thin one. The film does acknowledge a problem but does not fully commit to its message, ultimately resulting in the story falling back on the “well-intentioned extremist” trope that allows the conclusion to stick to a familiar formula.
While many films have managed to connect audiences to anti-heroic characters, Harp executing two Marines who were actively trying to be saved by their comrades, and then subsequently showing no remorse, really strains the viewer’s ability to care about him as the main character. Idris’ cold performance, combined with the supposed career soldier’s complete disrespect for authority, could drive some viewers to find his brutal beating by the comrades of the men he killed quite cathartic.
There are scant references to his personal life, including a fianceé and an implied troubled past, which could have potentially rounded out his character but had to be pushed aside for the sake of action.
Luckily, Harp’s character is offset by Captain Leo, who is made to feel much more human, thanks in no small part to the always charming Mackie. Equal parts charismatic and confident, Leo at first glance seems to be the perfect counterpoint to the cold and detached Harp, teaching him the humanity that he clearly lacks.
However, it quickly becomes apparent that all is not right with Leo, as he uses the mission to carry out his own clandestine agenda. Unfortunately, as the audience gets a closer look at Mackie’s true nature, Mackie’s performance begins to falter, giving way to a less interesting, more cookie-cutter characterization of Leo that is all too typical of this genre.
The action scenes in the movie are mostly competent, which also serves as their biggest flaw. They truly offer nothing more remarkable than any of Netflix’s other sci-fi action offerings. Leo’s cybernetic enhancements allow for some elevated choreography and spectacle but are ultimately the same generic displays of super-soldier ability that can be found in almost any superhero movie. The only saving grace is that the filmmakers had the decency to avoid an over-reliance on shaky-cam, as it is always better to see the dynamic movements in front of us. The film’s action scenes are done no favors by its special effects, which strain credulity from the opening act, particularly with the often unnecessary presence of the “Gumps.”
Overall, “Outside the Wire” is unlikely to leave an impact on most viewers, even with an amusing performance by Mackie. It simply plays too safe to stand out in its crowded genre, resulting in a promising premise completely wasting its momentum towards the endpoint.
Rating: 4 Hawks out of 10
