Interceptor (Reilly) 2022

When you’re looking through Netflix recommendations, and it suggests a Netflix original film that you’ve never heard of, it might be better to steer clear.
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Interceptor tries to bill itself as an action film in the vein of classic Schwarzenegger or Stallone flicks of 20-30 years ago, but fills itself with so many plot holes, that it’s hard to even understand what the true motivations of the characters are.

The conceit here is that the only remaining missile defense platform located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean is being taken over by terrorists working in tandem with someone in Russia to steal a bunch of nukes to fire at the U.S. This begs the question of why the U.S. only has two missile defense platforms (interceptors) and where all the other missile defense capabilities are during this film. Don’t we have planes, ships, etc. that could launch similar countermeasures against a nuclear attack?
I digress.

The star of the film is Elsa Pataky as JJ Collins, a Navy captain who has faced backlash for Me Too accusations against a high ranking general earlier in her career. You may recognize Pataky as Elena Neves, Dominic Toretto’s love interest in some of the more recent Fast and Furious films and she is probably the best part of this film, I just wish she’d been given a better vehicle to showcase what she could do in the action genre.

Aside from Pataky’s performance, the only other real bright spot in the film comes from her husband and executive producer on the film, Chris Hemsworth. He has a cameo as an electronic store employee in Los Angeles who see the events on the missile platform broadcast live across the country and cheers Collins on as she fights the terrorists.

Ultimately, you know how this film is going to end. There are no surprises along the way, at least not ones you can’t see coming 20 minutes in advance. A forgettable film that hopefully doesn’t kill the career of an actor with some great potential.

3 out of 10

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