Rogue (2020)

Directed by: MJ Bassett | minutes | action, horror | Actors: Megan Fox, Philip Winchester, Greg Kriek, Brandon Auret, Jessica Sutton, Kenneth Fok, Isabel Bassett, Adam Deacon, Sisanda Henna, Tamer Burjaq, Ashish Gangapersad, Calli Taylor, Lee-Anne Liebenberg

Poor Megan Fox. The actress is invariably cast as eye candy in mindless entertainment from directors such as Michael ‘everything must and will break’ Bay. After having paraded past as a sex object dozens of times in titles such as ‘Transformers’ and ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, the actress got fed up. She’s a serious actress damn it! And the world needs to know that! Director MJ Bassett thought it would be a cool plan to have the lady in question perform as a military master planner in ‘Rogue’. Hidden behind a thick layer of foundation and lip gloss, Fox leads a pack of mercenaries. To solve a kidnapping, these brawlers accidentally run into the pixelated body of a CGI lion. A monstrous computer animation with hunger! And yes… that’s as bad as it sounds. Ouch…

Samatha O’Hara (Fox) heads an elite team. These soldiers must rescue hostages from their captors in remote Africa. But when their mission fails and the team ends up stranded, they face ruthless rebels. Hungry lions are also involved.

With ‘Rogue’ Bassett wants to say something about lion farms where these animals are bred purely for hunting to please wealthy tourists. Animal cruelty at its peak. The message is noble, but the effect is downright pathetic. To portray a hungry computer-animated lion as the enemy and say afterwards that this beast can’t do much about it either is rather strange. In addition, the fact that the CGI lion looks rather clumsy and unbelievable doesn’t help either. The same goes for Fox who looks like a fashion model in a camouflage suit. This is pure miscasting.

What is very unfortunate is that Bassett does have what it takes to make entertaining movies. His debut ‘Deathwatch’ – a horror film set in the trenches of WWI – was worthwhile and follow-up ‘Wilderness’ – a slasher that highlights the consequences of bullying – was also perfectly fine. ‘Rogue’, however, is a soulless affair full of broken acting, bad special effects and with a beautiful message wrapped in a downright infantile script. Only Fox fans will be able to give this film another chance. The famous name of this actress is also the only reason that this film was released in theaters. A painful realization.