Interceptor

Directed by Matthew Reilly, Interceptor follows an army captain (Elsa Pataky’s J.J. Collins) as she springs into action after terrorists, led by Luke Bracey’s Alexander Kessel, take over a remote platform in the Pacific Ocean. It’s an appealingly larger-than-life premise that’s employed to mostly watchable yet entirely forgettable effect by Reilly, as the filmmaker, working from a script written with Stuart Beattie, delivers a hopelessly, palpably low-rent endeavor that’s been suffused with a whole host of distractingly underwhelming elements – including cheap-looking sets (or set, since the bulk of the picture transpires within a control room) and a central performance that couldn’t possibly be more wooden. There’s little doubt, then, that Interceptor benefits substantially from its inherently compelling setup and smattering of engaging, exciting sequences, with, in terms of the latter, the inclusion of several appreciatively violent encounters going a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s various bumps and lulls – which, when coupled with a relatively compelling climax, cements the movie’s place as a decent-enough actioner that generally gets the job done.

**1/2 out of ****