Outside The Wire Review

When it comes to action films the quality of Netflix's offerings could be described as unbalanced. Films such as Ava and _6 Underground wasted great casts and huge budgets, however in the past year, *The Old Guard indicated that the streaming platform began to make strides towards an upward direction. Produced by Mikael Hafstrom, _Outside the Wire" is an average effort, with its bright moments fail to disguise the muddled and unoriginal story. A film with elements from Training Day__*, the"Terminator" franchise, and even"Gemini Man"," it's too generic often.

The majority of what's interesting about Netflix's latest film is due to the captivating performances of the lead actors. The fact that the brilliant and freezing drone pilot Harp is likely to have his perception changed after experiencing horrific war scenes from a close-up is not a surprise and the rising star Damson Idris gives credibility to the storyline. Anthony Mackie is at his most entertaining when Leo Harp's new android companionis allowed to muse or even in the event that Rowan Athale and Rob Yescombe's screenplay is bogged down with unnecessary dialogue, the shifting dynamics among Harp and Leo — each one suspicious of the other keeps us guessing.

There's nothing that's not been better done in films such as Eye In The Sky or Good Kill.

Others aren't doing similarly. The ever-dependable Michael Kelly is underused as the sly US colonel. Emily Beecham's rebel Sofiya is plagued by inconsistent characterisation, with a key sequence where she spares a character who she ought to kill in order to advance the plot proving to be a bit difficult to comprehend. There's some in-joke about collateral damages and the greater good, but nothing that's not seen before in films such as _Eye In The Sky__ and *Good Kill*.

In terms of the action, it takes long time for Mackie's android fully unleash his energy, and, when he does the break, it's a mixed bag. There's not much of the originality of Leigh Whannell's"Upgrade" or even the ferocity of *Extraction's 12 minute long version. The final sequence where Leo takes on the role of a one-man army is the highlight However, other action scenes similar to the entire film are bland and dull.