Battle Drone (2018)

Directed by: Mitch Gould | 93 minutes | action, science fiction | Actors: Natassia Malthe, Dominique Swain, Michael Paré, Louis Mandylor, Jason Earles, Oleg Taktarov, Dan Southworth, Richard Alan Reid, Jo Marr, Steve Pound, Robert Reynolds, Randy Brown, Borislav Sarandev

‘Battle Drone’ is the indie take on a tried and tested concept in the action genre: the seasoned mercenaries who do dirty jobs for the government until the government drops them. The makers of the film are clearly inspired by 80s movies and more recent tributes like ‘The Expendables’, but work with a modest budget and unknown actors. The biggest name in the film is Russian former martial arts fighter Oleg Taktarov, known for bit parts in bigger films like ‘Bad Boys 2’ and ‘Predators’. The plot is, as we would expect from this type of film, quite simple: a team of mercenaries is betrayed by the government and must face advanced drone soldiers.

‘Battle Drone’ feels largely familiar and doesn’t shy away from action clichés: witty one-liners, improbable gunfights that the heroes always survive, and a few tough women to make up for the excess of sloshing testosterone. Of course there is also the cunning government contact with a double agenda. Nevertheless, the film feels fresh and self-conscious at times: the one-liners are more creative than we are used to and are full of sarcasm. This is a film that has no high ambitions, knows very well what it is and just has a lot of fun with it. It is a pity that the story is very unoriginal. After the unveiling of the drones, there are no more surprising plot twists, while they would have finished the whole thing. That’s why ‘Battle Drone’ feels a bit unfinished as an ‘indie action movie’. Although the film usually manages to compensate for the low budget with a smooth editing, it becomes painfully clear when the drones come into the picture – the digitally animated robots look like they have walked right out of a game for the PlayStation. The excessive slow motion gives some scenes extra dynamism, but in the end it stays longer than it is welcome.

Nevertheless, ‘Battle Drone’ can certainly compete with the bigger names from the genre to which the film is so clearly attached. The unknown actors are clearly enthusiastic and have an infectious chemistry with each other, which also keeps the film fun when nothing is blown up or shot. With a little more inspiration and a bigger budget, it would certainly have been a modern classic. In the end, the film doesn’t feel quite ‘finished’ yet, which is a shame. Nevertheless, ‘Battle Drone’ is worth watching and shows that you can make a nice action movie without Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Diesel or other big names.