Spectral

 3/4

Starring: James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Bruce Greenwood, Max Martini, Cory Hardict, Clayne Crawford

Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi Combat Action

"Spectral" takes the concept of "suspension of disbelief to heights that far surpass even an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle would have gone.  It's loud, moves fast and is more than a bit dumb.  But it has a lot of energy and some nifty special effects.  Plus it has James Badge Dale headlining his first action movie and the always welcome Emily Mortimer.  Nuff said.

Clyne (Dale) is a genius inventor.  Like Nicola Tesla level of genius.  He has invented a new kind of goggles worn by the military, which is not working to prevent a civil war in Eastern Europe.  A soldier captured something very strange on his feed before dying mysteriously.  The CIA, represented by Fran Madison (Mortimer) and the military, led on the ground by General Orland (Greenwood), want to find out why and how the man died.  What they discover puts not only their lives in danger, but that of the entire world.

Finally James Badge Dale gets a leading man role in an action movie.  The young character actor has been toiling in indie flicks and bit parts for years and with none of the recognition he so thoroughly deserves (in a perfect world, he would win an Oscar for his performance in "Mickey and the Bear").  Dale has the screen presence, charisma and vulnerability to make him a solid leading man.  Unfortunately, the screenplay doesn't give him much to work with.  Clyne doesn't have much going on in the personality department, but Dale does what he can.  Emily Mortimer puts on the tough as nails persona that every "good girl" actress gets the itch to play sooner or later.  Bruce Greenwood is on hand for a few scenes as well.

There isn't an original moment in "Spectral," which has been cobbled together from dozens of other sci-fi films ("Aliens" and "Predator" being the obvious ones).  The story is entertaining in a b-movie sort of way.    I didn't mind so much because it kept my attention and even raised my adrenaline level on a few occasions.  It looks great (the cinematographer, Bojan Bazelli, also did the camerawork for "The Ring," so this should be no surprise).

The special effects are great.  The monsters, if you can call them that, are something else.  They're spooky, hyper aggressive, and very fast. They're not quite the Demon Nun on steroids, but when they leap through the air leaving trails of energy behind them, it's hard not to be impressed.  And intimidated.

But alas the screenplay is not very good.  The story is thin and filled with characters who can charitably be called "paper thin."  More depth and meatier dialogue would have given me more of a vested interest in their fates.  Special effects and acting are important, but they don't matter much without people to play and a plot that generates more than a cursory interest.  Finally, the film gets dumber with every passing scene.  The third act piles on contrivance after contrivance to the point where it becomes hard to overlook.  I'll accept that Clyne is a scientific genius, but the suspension of disbelief gets set so high that it enters the stratosphere.

"Spectral" was going to be a theatrical release, but Universal decided to offload it and it was acquired by Netlix.  That's a good thing because a streaming service is where a movie like this can shine the brightest.

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