Bullet Points: Spectral
The only news I had on Spectral was that it was originally planned for a theatrical run from Universal but then sold to Netflix. That was a massive red flag and the major reason that it took me so long to watch it on the streaming service. To say that Netflix does a bad job of promoting its content would be an understatement. New films pop up on there daily without so much as word one as to what they’re about. Do they think I just sit there and watch as their videos play in the background? If they’re looking for reasons as to why these movies aren’t blowing up with fans they need only to look at how they’re promoting them on their own site.
Synopsis: Civil unrest in the European nation of Moldova leads American forces to investigate. A group of special operations soldiers soon finds that a supernatural force of some kind is taking out their comrades. They dispatch DARPA scientist Dr. Clyne (James Badge Dale) to work with the soldiers to undercover what is killing their men. They soon discover that there is more at stake than just them as the entire city and potentially the world looks to be in jeopardy.
- Moldovan Vacation: Anyone making their way to the former Soviet republic of Moldova is going to be pissed. Not only is there a massive insurgency going on, there is also some ghost-like creatures straight up murdering folks. The American forces are there for a reason that I assume involves us getting way too involved in things all around the world. It puts them in a situation where men from the Delta Force and Rangers Battalion put their skills up against an enemy that you can’t see until it’s too late.
- The team: We’re introduced to one of the spectres during the opening of the movie. We don’t know what they are yet but they’re obviously crazy deadly and not something that can be dealt with diplomatically. Bruce Greenwood is the General in charge of military operations in Moldova. The Delta leader is Max Martini’s Capt. Sessions and one of his right hand men is Clayne Crawford’s Sgt. Toll. I really enjoyed how much like Aliens it all felt. Since Aliens has become the leader in the clubhouse in terms of movie military teams I think that every movie since then has tried to emulate it. Martini and Crawford’s characters are more soft spoken than I expected but they do a great job of looking the part.
- A run in with the spectres: The spectral forces only need to touch the humans to kill them dead in their tracks. It leaves their skin burned to a crisp but their organs frozen inside their bodies. It’s not a good situation. An attack on the building with some of the spectres in it leaves the soldiers in absolute shambles and they finally understand the importance of having the good Dr. Clyne with them. He starts building all sorts of cool machines that will detect and eventually destroy the spectres. If there is one man who deserves the MVP it would be Clyne.
- Home Alone Moldova: It wouldn’t be an Aliens-inspired film without the surviving child gimmick. These kids survived the initial spectre attacks and found a way to defend themselves long enough for the soldiers to find them and provide a little backstory to the whole affair. Surprisingly, they’re not annoying and they don’t feel forced. Instead, it was a welcome addition to the film since it added a little heart to the story that was so far about ghost things, soldiers with very little personality, and a emotionless scientist who was great at creating anything in a matter of hours.
- Pulling the plug: A series of battles between the spectres and the soldiers finally brings the movie to an end. It’s an ending that isn’t exactly Aliens-like since there is no massive “queen spectre” to face, but it is one that provides plenty of action to a movie that was already not skimping on it. Martini and Crawford are given another chance to prove their worth with their new spectre-killing weapons (thanks Doc) and Clyne and female compatriot Fran Madison (Emily Mortimer) go off in search of a way to stop the spectres once and for all. The ultimate finale didn’t leave me with the greatest of feelings but overall, I wasn’t disappointed with the amount of action.
The Verdict: First-time director Nic Mathieu has hit this one out of the park. The look of the film matches up perfectly with the script. The characters don’t run around doing stupid things and it never feels like their actions go against what their motivations are. Actors like James Badge Dale and Max Martini are perfectly cast in their roles. Clayne Crawford and Bruce Greenwood also lend their talents to the team of soldiers and officers in a way that will leave you wanting more from their characters. Emily Mortimer plays the government stooge but not in a way that makes her bad or evil. She’s simply looking for an answer that isn’t there. In the end, each of the actors are more than up to the challenge and the film has some really cool looking effects and enough action to keep you glued to the screen. I am a big fan.
