While watching the brand new Netflix Original “Outside the Wire,” I was struck by the unshakable notion that I had already seen this film many times before and in far more memorable forms. While the streaming behemoth-turned-production company has churned out plenty of outstanding original content in the past, they’ve also developed projects that are definitively less than remarkable. Here we unfortunately have an entry into the latter category.
“Outside the Wire” totes a by-the-numbers science fiction premise that borrows munificently from other, better sci-fi stories. The year is 2036. The United States military is involved in a civil war between Russia and Ukraine, and they have begun utilizing Gumps, fully robotic fighting machines, to aid in the violent conflict.
Our central protagonist is Lieutenant Harp (Damson Idris), a U.S. Army drone pilot who is reassigned to the unit belonging to the mysterious Captain Leo (Anthony Mackie). There’s more to Leo than meets the eye: as Harp quickly finds out he is a prototype for a fully sentient artificial intelligence that is indistinguishable from humans. The two are ultimately thrust into the midst of a war-zone on a mission involving nuclear codes, murderous terrorists, and, per usual, the fate of all mankind.
I regret to report that “Outside the Wire” is constructed very similar to the Gumps themselves: sleek, systematic, and soulless.
While Anthony Mackie supplies a much-needed infusion of charisma that is sorely lacking from the rest of the film around him, much of the proceedings are largely devoid of personality or anything to distinguish the film from other gritty action flicks of its ilk. Damson Idris is serviceable in the lead role, but he’s simply not given enough meaningful content to work with. It’s pretty obvious the man has talent, but this is not exactly his big break.
Anthony Mackie in a scene from “Outside the Wire” (Netflix, 2021).
That’s not to say that the movie is especially terrible, per se, but just supremely inconsequential. It’s competently helmed by director Mikael Håfström and has obviously made the most of its moderate budget; there are definitely moments that make it quite clear the filmmakers did not have access to the bottomless pockets of a major Hollywood studio. However, the film is technically proficient in its own right and conjures a handful of striking images along the way.
“Outside the Wire’s” visual prowess and Anthony Mackie’s inherent magnetism are essentially the full extent of the film’s strengths, unfortunately. The remainder of this review will largely be dedicated to recounting the movie’s many flaws.
Firstly, it’s prone to bouts of tiresome exposition, with the writers too often opting to utilize ham-fisted monologues in lieu of deft storytelling. In fact, the script as a whole is very shoddy. While it occasionally punches above its weight in terms of the heady themes it tries to dabble in, the filmmakers’ ambitions of crafting an emotionally engaging and thought-provoking piece of science fiction are thwarted by the film’s tendency to revert back to its big, loud, dumb sensibilities, and the final product ultimately possesses little merit beyond the surface level.
Anthony Mackie and Pilou Asbæk in “Outside the Wire” (Netflix, 2020).
The action sequences are plentiful, but none of them stand out as being exceptional by any significant measure. The only set piece I can even discern in my memory from the amorphous combustion of gunfire that characterizes the rest of the film was a shootout at a bank that involved some Gump vs. Gump action. But even that was far less interesting than it sounds.
The film culminates in a silly and bloated final act that is about 20 minutes too long and has two or three bombastic plot twists too many. It would have undoubtedly benefited from being leaner and simpler, but its sights were ultimately set on grander narrative goals than were necessary.
If we were living in a slightly less apocalyptic reality and multiplexes around the world were still bustling with cheerful moviegoers and their bountiful buckets of popcorn, “Outside the Wire” would serve as a watchable if uninspiring release amidst the cinematic dog days of January. In actuality, as an easily forgettable sci-fi actioner dumped straight to Netflix without much fanfare, it’s very unlikely to make much noise on the streaming service scene, and will almost certainly get swallowed up in a sea of much more notable content.
