REVOLT (2017)

Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Joe Miale
Cast: Lee Pace, Bérénice Marlohe, Amy Louise Wilson
Runtime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: PG13
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 28 September 2017

Synopsis: REVOLT is an action-packed sci-fi thriller about humankind’s last stand against a cataclysmic alien invasion. Set in the war-ravaged African countryside, an American soldier (Lee Pace) and a French foreign aid worker (Bérénice Marlohe) team up to survive the alien onslaught. As they journey through the battlefield in search of refuge, their bond will be tested when the soldier discovers his true identity.

Movie Review:

Revolt is basically an amalgamation of many sci-fi movies you have seen way before. It’s set in South Africa, that’s when District 9 comes to mind. Then there are soldiers involved in the fighting which reminds us of Battle: Los Angeles and the robotic aliens look like they just escaped from Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds.

When we first met Bo (Lee Pace from The Hobbit, Guardians of the Galaxy), he is in the midst of fighting some unseen but powerful opponents before he is knocked out cold. Dressed in army fatigues, he is next found locked in a cell beside a female doctor, Nadia (Bérénice Marlohelast seen in the recent Kill Switch). Before long, the duo are on their way to some American satellite station to seek help because at this point Bo has no recollection of who he is, what has actually happened prior or what is that mysterious scar on his arm.

Thus the audiences are left equally befuddled as Bo as we faithfully follows the duo. Along the way, they are met with attacks from countless robotic aliens and countless armed men. Surprisingly, none of the humans actually care to explain what actually happened and where do all the aliens came from, they simply appear on the screen for seconds brandishing guns before being disposed off by the aliens. To paraphrase the tagline from Edge of Tomorrow, the entire movie can be summed as “Shoot, Chase, Hide, Repeat”. And this tedious process went on for an hour before Bo actually met a group of resistance soldiers that actually bother to provide some insights.

By now, there’s nothing in Revolt that is particularly interesting or stands out among the crowd unless you love all the shooting and explosions. Apparently this is Joe Miale’s directorial feature though I must credit his team for delivering some nifty visual effects given the relatively low production budget. There’s zero tension or excitement to talk about despite the apocalyptic setting with aliens. If you have problem rooting for your lead character, it goes to show how terrible the movie is. The payoff if you are still hanging around to wait for it is as ridiculous as you expect it to be.

Lee Pace is more than a decent actor and he is easily the most recognizable face as compared to the many unknown African actors. Unfortunately, Revolt is not the decent sci-fi actioner to showcase his machismo that we actually feel bad for him. French actress Bérénice Marlohe who also starred in Skyfall deserves better roles consider she has appeared in two duds in a row. Simply put, Revolt is yet another forgettable, cut-and-paste alien invasion movie that no one should pay a ticket to watch. 

Movie Rating:

(If humans insist on producing such hollow, mindless and pointless movies, we rather surrender the planet to the aliens)

Review by Linus Tee