Outside the Wire Movie Review

Outside the Wire (2021)

Watch Outside the Wire on Netflix
Written by: Rob Yescombe and Rowan Athale (screenplay by), Rob Yescombe (story by)
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
Starring: TAnthony Mackie, Damson Idris, Michael Kelly
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In the near future, a drone pilot sent into a war zone finds himself paired with a top-secret android officer on a mission to stop a nuclear attack.

Verdict
I like the questions this raises about the nature of war, the cost of collateral damage, and the nefarious reasons for war among others. That's packaged in a cool sci-fi setting, but nothing is done with those questions. Instead the movie becomes mired in a moral war between the two main characters. This seemed poised to explore complex issues, but it ends up as a rather typical 'save the world' action movie. It didn't live up to the expectations it sets up initially.
Skip it.

Review
From the start this reminded me of Good Kill with Ethan Hawke. Both movies feature a drone pilot and question what level of collateral damage is acceptable.

Anthony Mackie's character is an android.

This is set in the future with robot troops and UAV pilots. I wasn't sure why troops on the ground were needed other than to set up a few of the plot conflicts. In this future the U.S. acts as peace keepers in the Ukraine. Harp (Damson Idris) is a drone pilot that disobeys orders. He bombs an enemy vehicle. He kills two Marines in the process but saved thirty-eight. This event is the catalyst for the plot. There's a disconnect between Harp and what's happening on the ground. His superiors think that since he's never seen active combat his decisions lack empathy.

This movie doesn't bury the lead at all. I wondered when we would see the android and if it would be a big secret. It's not. Harp is paired with Leo (Anthony Mackie), the android of the movie, on a special mission. The introduction sports some nice CGI effects.

I wondered why Leo chose Harp for this mission. Because he 'thinks outside of the box' didn't seem to cut it. The question of why Harp persists through the movie as this mission isn't all that it appears. As Harp states he has not field experience and they're on a specialized mission. The reasons could have fit better into the movie. It almost seems like Leo just wants a patsy. I wish the movie played more into Harp's view of collateral damage. Whatever intricacies I thought might arise as to the why never materialize.

Damson Idris and Anthony Mackie play Harp and Leo.

I like this world and concept.  A desk jockey enters the field, going "outside the wire" which is beyond the safe zone of the tall fence. Harp is out of his element and has to rely on Leo for protocol. Part of that is why Leo chose him, as Harp doesn't know what's normal. I just wish it was more than that.

Harp is used to seeing humans looking very small on a video screen. On the ground the vantage point is very different. The consequences of war, and bombs Harp has dropped, are homeless children and people struggling to survive.

Leo's mission is a ruse. His true mission is to attack the root of the problem, and that's not the crime lord we're told is perpetuating the war.

Harp ends up on the opposite end of a drone strike. He was reprimanded for his actions, but his superiors order a strike that is more lethal and damaging. You could see this as contradictory, but I'd argue it's the ranking officers seeing their situation as unique and that the collateral damage is permissible. They see their situation as a special case, the lives they'll end are necessary for the goal. It's always easier for people to call out others even if they do the same things.

This comes down to why wars persist, and it's because the powers that be use them to their advantage. Leo, and android that is arguably the smartest soldier on the ground, realized the only way to stop war is to stop all wars and stop the source. He chose a nuclear option, but I wish the movie gave more weight to that thinking and really explored it. Harp rejects the idea outright, but it would play so much better if he struggled over the idea or even realized it is the answer but selfishly doesn't want to enact. Instead we get a rather banal conclusion.