Reading the list of talent attached to this project has never given you less idea of what will actually be on display. Starting with writer and director Eli Roth, you would think you might have a concept of execution, no not really, nor the inclusion of master thespian Cate Blanchett. Being aware of the first-person shooter video game that formed the basis of the story and provided the film’s name only gives you a rough idea.
Yet with the restructuring of certain character’s place in this space-western universe, the game and its actions provide only the merest of hints. What you are left with is a very good example of a current-generation popcorn movie. It’s fun and frivolous and the 102-minute running time flies by. And just like the salty snack that fills but doesn’t stick to the ribs, it only tickles the memory cells.
Blanchett plays Lilith, an outlaw and a complete badass with guns and in hand-to-hand combat and one who is presented on-screen under a blazing scarlet do. Her 9 to 5 is bounty hunter but when she is tasked to go on a man, or in this case a woman hunt and return to her home planet, the adventure begins. She picks up some wayward help along the way with a mouthy robot Claptrap voiced by a sped-up Jack Black and a fellow warrior, Roland (Kevin Hart).
It all feels like maybe an MA rating might have given the film’s commandos a better opportunity to really let loose and provide a more substantive experience. Fans of the video game will have more to do as there are more than a few Easter Eggs carefully hidden in some unusual places and this gives value. For the rest of us, the entertainment quotient is rather immediate and not particularly long-lasting.
Rob Hudson
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