“To live is to fight. To fight is to live.” —Bo
Today’s quick review: Revolt. Bo (Lee Pace), an American soldier, wakes up in a Kenyan jail with no memory of who he is or how he got there. He soon learns that the area is a warzone: enormous bipedal killing machines have overrun the world, and the human survivors have turned on each other for resources. Together with Nadia (Berenice Marlohe), a French relief doctor, Bo sets out for the Dish, an American base that might still be safe.
Revolt is a budget science fiction survival movie. Revolt follows Bo and Nadia as they pick their way across hundreds of miles of war-torn Kenya, hiding from the machines and cautiously interacting with other survivors along the way. The movie offers tense survival situations, a mysterious plot, and a smattering of action. However, its mediocre characters, unsatisfying mystery, and one-sided combat keep it from having the impact it could have.
Revolt plays its cards close to its chest. The origin of the machines, what happened to Bo, and what’s at the Dish are all carefully guarded secrets. Few of the important questions are answered by the end of the film; the ones that are have decent answers but aren’t enough to justify the wait. Normally an invasion movie can do without concrete answers, but Bo’s amnesia and his search for the Dish both promise explanations that never come.
Revolt’s execution is a mixed bag. Bo and Nadia make a fairly effective pair, with Bo as the optimist and Nadia as the realist, but neither one stands out as a character. The machines aren’t as intimidating as they could be. They appear out of nowhere, stump around, and rack up too-clean kills before disappearing again. These encounters give the movie some spectacle, but they aren’t suspenseful enough to really hit home.
Still, Revolt makes for decent sci-fi fodder. Give it shot if you’re in the mood for a no-frills invasion movie and don’t mind sacrificing a bit of quality to get it. Skip it if you’re looking for a moving story or full-blown sci-fi action. For a budget alien invasion with deeper flaws, this one set in a Los Angeles highrise, check out Skyline. For a somewhat better take on the genre, check out War of the Worlds.
5.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 for a decent survival-oriented plot hampered by a mediocre mystery.