Today’s quick review: Alien Warfare. Lieutenant Chris Marks (David Meadows) leads a team of Navy SEALs including Jonesy (Daniel Washington), Thorpe (Scott Roe), and Chris’s hotheaded brother Mike (Clayton Snyder). When the entire staff of a top-secret government research lab vanishes into thin air, Chris and his men are sent to investigate. There they find a lone survivor (Larissa Andrade) and an alien device with immense destructive power.
Alien Warfare is a budget sci-fi action movie about a Navy SEAL team that has a hostile encounter with aliens. To make it home alive, Chris and his team must figure out what happened to the research staff, discover the true nature of the device they were studying, and find a way to overcome the alien soldiers sent to retrieve it. Limited vision and a highly constrained budget prevent the movie from having any real impact.
Alien Warfare struggles with the same problems as other budget films and does a poor job of coping with them. The cast feels understaffed, with only five major characters in a genre that would normally have a few soldiers to spare. The story takes place in a single building with nothing special about it. To make matters worse, the movie is stingy with its special effects and not especially creative with how it uses them.
Still, Alien Warfare puts in a good effort. There is a clear plot progression, albeit a sluggish one. The characters have distinct personalities, and while their interactions are largely a miss, there are glimmers of some fun dynamics. And while the movie’s science fiction is not too original, some of the details are viable. Alien Warfare simply fails to find a way to capitalize on its strengths and work within the constraints it is given.
Ultimately, Alien Warfare will have limited appeal, if any. Fans of budget science fiction will not find the innovative or ambitious movie they may be looking for, while those looking for major flubs will be disappointed by its sensible but underwhelming execution. As such, most viewers would be better off looking elsewhere.
For a more sinister trip into a malfunctioning facility, try Resident Evil. For a budget horror movie with a similar premise and a darker tone, try The Facility. For a budget alien invasion movie, try Occupation, Taking Earth, or Cosmic Sin. For one with a little more success, try The Darkest Hour or Extinction.
[2.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9562694/). I give it a 3.0 for an honest effort that ultimately has little to offer.