Today’s quick review: Kill Command. Years in the future, advances in robotics have made human soldiers all but obsolete. To test their effectiveness against combat robots, Captain Bukes (Thure Lindhardt) and his Marines are sent on a two-day training mission on a remote island along with Mills (Vanessa Kirby), a robotics technician. But shortly after they arrive, the robots launch a deadly attack against them, turning the training exercise into a fight for survival.
Kill Command is a science fiction action movie that pits a team of Marines against an island of combat robots. Kill Command backs this simple premise with decent action, neat robot designs, and solid special effects. The movie avoids the trap of grating characters; its cast is expendable but not annoying. Kill Command also has one or two sci-fi treats, such as the use of cybernetic enhancements to track robots or interface with a rifle’s scope.
However, Kill Command has almost no plot. The movie takes nearly an hour to articulate its central mystery: the question of why the robots are attacking. The answer is dull and predictable when it comes. Kill Command also goes light on its philosophical speculation. The movie touches on the replacement of human soldiers with robotic ones and the consequences of adaptive AI, but these are plot devices more than anything.
Give Kill Command a shot if you are in the mood for mindless sci-fi action. Kill Command shows more polish than other movies of its caliber, making it a thin but serviceable sci-fi pick. Skip it if you are looking for moving drama or thoughtful speculation. For a movie with a similar premise and better execution, check out Predator. For a more insightful look at the interface between man and machine, check out Ghost in the Shell.
5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for decent action and minimal plot.