Rogue (2020)

 

            What if we took the hot chick from “Transformers” and made her into an action hero?  Someone had that bright idea in 2019 and gave Megan Fox to writer/director M.J. Bassett.  Bassett had her for 22 days.  That’s how long it took to film the movie.  This took place in South Africa.  The movie made $243,000 which I am sure did not cover Megan’s salary and certainly did not ensure an action franchise for her.  Maybe if there had been a nude scene.  Oops, spoiler alert!  Before you stop reading, the movie not only has mercenaries and Islamic terrorists, but also lions!

            Samantha O’Hara (Fox) is a tough leader of a mercenary team that is tasked with rescuing a governor’s daughter. Asilia (Jessica Sutton) is being held for ransom by a terrorist group.  There is an explosion in the first five minutes, so we get Fox and explosions!  Calling all fourteen-year-old boys.  The unit slaughters bad guys without a scratch in rescuing the girl.  We know Sam is tough because she has to be talked into rescuing Asilia’s two friends, too.  Make that one friend as the other is eaten by a crocodile as the first of the inevitable whittling down of the “who will survive?” group.  They are on the run from the terrorists and their leader Zalaam (Adam Deacon).  They reach an abandoned lion farm where they take refuge.  All they have to do is survive until morning and a helicopter will pick them up.  Easy peasy.  Except for the human and animal terrorists out there in the night.  Imagine “The Ghost and the Darkness”, only with terrorists as well as rogue lions.  It’s almost a horror war movie and as with all horror movies, don’t expect many people left standing. 

            I would not classify “Rogue” as a war movie, unless you insist on including mercenary movies in the genre.  But since I watched it, I’ll review it.  And no, I did not watch it because I am a big Megan Fox fan.  I’m not a teenage boy.  I’m a critic and as usual I found her performance wooden.  Putting a weapon in her hands does not distract from this.  The rest of the cast is no- names since no money was left over after paying Fox.  But if you force me to pick a standout that would be Philip Winchester as the survivable Joey.  He had starred in the British special forces series “Strike Back”.  But no one watches a movie like this for the acting, or even to see Megan Fox attempt to act.  We watch it for the expenditure of munitions and the slaughtering of bad guys.  And this one adds lion-chomping.  In that respect, the movie is competent.  The chase scene at the beginning is well-staged and the numerous deaths are not cartoonish.  The mercenary losses are realistic.  All this goes out the window when the movie reaches the lion farm.  It’s the Alamo over again with the terrorists playing the Mexicans.  Except the protagonists win, of course.  The besieged never miss and no enemy ever is just wounded.  Or just nibbled on.  Speaking of which, the lion CGI is not good.  Come on, “The Ghost and the Darkness” was 24 years earlier!  

            The one thing “Rogue” has going for it is not Megan Fox, it’s the lions (and the crocodile).  In fact, the movie supposedly had a noble purpose of shing a light on the Lion Farms to get them banned.  I don’t think enough people will see it for that result to ensue, plus I think that might have gotten lost in the “terrorists are bad” theme.  But truthfully, the biggest takeaway from the film is Megan Fox is a badass!

GRADE  =  C