Kill Command

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UK • 2016 • 99m •

• Directed by: Steven Gomez. • Starring: Vanessa Kirby, David Ajala, Mike Noble, Bentley Kalu, Tom McKay, Kelly Gough, Osi Okerafor, Damian Kell, Tim Ahern, Sam Huntington, Thure Lindhardt, Deborah Rosan. • Music by: Stephen Hilton.

Set in a near future, technology-reliant society is creating killing machines. Against this backdrop an elite Marine unit is helicoptered in to a remote, off-the-grid island training facility, to test the capabilities of the latest prototypes. They set up positions and make short work of the AI targets in the killing field. However, overnight their sentry goes missing, and when they find the corpse the next day they find themselves in the killing field and the tables have turned. The Marines fight to survive on an island that is overrun by an enemy intelligence far beyond their predecessors, which learns from their every move.

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French Trailer

1:32

Trailer

2:03

Review:

Not this one! But three movies it tries so hard to emulate? They deserve respect. Kill Command itself is little more than a watchable, made for TV movie. Regardless, the source work from which this film borrows inspired a few comments.

Predator 1987 - & the most obvious source of content. A group of elite military professionals is called upon to get a job done. Something goes wrong in the way of a horrific monster that turns the tables of dominance - hijinks ensues. Predator is a classic action film with numerous iconic qualities; namely a beast of a protagonist, an amazing music score, top flight production, and a colorful cast of periphery characters. While seemingly a great source to borrow from? Predator needed all these top flight characteristics to succeed. While Kill Command can borrow from the best - without so many of the trappings, it feels like a cheaper version of a much better suit.

Dog Soldiers 2002 - Now were getting closer! Dog Soldiers does a lot with its mid range budget. The formula is similar - an elite group of trained solders is out on routine military exercises when all goes crazy sauce in the form of monsters! Hijinks ensues. In Dog Soldier directer Neil Marshall absolutely maximizes his resources. The production quality fits the costume design fits the way the characters speak fits the campy violence. Dog Soldiers is an absolute clinic on overachieving film making that entertains - A Noble Pursuit Indeed! Why not borrow? Sadly by comparison, Kill Command does not have such balance. The attempt is there, but everything feels collaged together, from the visuals, to sounds, even performances that often reflect the sterile nature of the green screen.

Hardware 1990 - I guarantee Steven Gomez loved this movie. Who is S Gomez? Why the writerdirector of Kill Command silly! Hardware is an over achiever right between decades. 80's look, 90's ideas. A low budget movie involving a spare cast and self repairing robotic monstrosity. Hijinks... yea, you get it. Everything is kept simple; locations, cast, dialog and story. Strait forward, effective film making that even has a little something to say! Kill Command is closest to Hardware in terms of final verdict - Hardware, while over achieving And starring Dylan McDermott, is still a pretty shitty movie. But it has a kind of honesty not found in Kill Command... why? 'Cause Kill Command lifted all these ideas and has None of its own!

So what is Kill Command? Its a Predator remake with elements of Dog Soldiers, and a villain in the form of a self sufficient artificial intelligence. It has a shiny precise look, and there is no question an absolute ton of time went into post production building these visuals. While not the work of a master, it is quite the achievement, and this film maker could be building toward stronger future work.

However, if you are looking to watch an overachieving film with this kind of budget and in the same genre, I suggest Cypher 2002. Cypher borrows a ton of cyberpunk ideas, but seamlessly integrates these ideas into its own unique matrix.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery... but please bring some new ideas as well: 510.

Review by urthpainter from the Internet Movie Database.