In the retrofuturist world of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) navigates the complexities of motherhood while also acting as the glue that holds together the titular found family. While Sue's invisibility and light manipulation powers undoubtedly make her formidable, her compassionate drive to save the world is what ultimately helps turn the tide in the fight against a terrifying cosmic entity. Even before embodying Sue in the latest "Fantastic Four," Kirby played
myriad roles that are equally intriguing and fierce, tempered with a depth that is intriguing to behold.
We have her vivacious interpretation of a young Princess Margaret in "The Crown" (for which Kirby won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress) and also her deeply moving turn in "Pieces of a Woman," which explores grief through a tragically bleak lens. There's also a slew of stage performances that are worth noting, coupled with appearances in bona fide blockbusters, including "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" and "Hobbs & Shaw." But Kirby also starred in a low-budget British sci-fi horror that deserves more recognition for its merits. The film released years before the actor rose to prominence, and it showcases Kirby's range as a character whose identity undergoes rapid changes amidst a dystopian setting.
This 2016 sci-fi flick is none other than Steven Gomez's "Kill Command," which evokes standard B-movie tropes but manages to be more memorable than any run-of-the-mill genre offering. Gomez's experience as an effects supervisor is on full display in this directorial debut, as "Kill Command" brims with shiny cyborgs and slick action sequences, with the CGI doing most of the heavy lifting whenever the story takes a backseat. This is no "Terminator" or "Robocop" for obvious reasons, but Gomez's film makes every genre cliché seem fun, which makes this one-time watch well worth your time.
Read more: Eight Classic (And Not-So-Classic) Sci-Fi Movies Set In 2025
Kill Command's Uninspired Premise Is Counteracted By Its Gung-Ho Aesthetics
The world of "Kill Command" is a technologically advanced one, where the Harbinger Corporation (a really ominous name, if you ask me) has monopolized every sector imaginable. Katherine (Kirby), a cyborg working for the corpo, discovers an anomaly in a warfare A.I. system at Harbinger I, and this leads her to join a training mission with a group of specially trained officers, including Captain Damian Bukes (Thure Lindhardt).
As you might've already guessed, the group is greeted with a rather hellish situation on arrival: global communications are suddenly disabled, surveillance drones are autonomous now, and a rogue S.A.R. (Study Analyze Reprogram) Unit is seen roaming the area. The soldiers, alongside Katherine, take down the A.I. threats, but the S.A.R. unit remains out of reach, along with several autonomous machines.
Is this something you've seen a hundred times on film? Perhaps, as the overarching themes in "Kill Command" aren't as profound as you would like them to be, regurgitating the dangers of unchecked technological advancement without adding anything meaningful to the discourse. This is barebones storytelling that doesn't bother to hide its hollowness with pretense, which is exactly why the over-the-top slickness of every fight sequence works. The robot designs emerge as more intricate than any of the characters onscreen, demanding all of our attention with their terrifying killer-machine instincts. These ginormous beasts feel more like a raging antagonist on the loose as opposed to a machine gone rogue, hacking humans into ribbons or covertly seeking emotional connection. This is rather fascinating on its own, but the film doesn't seem to be very interested in dissecting whether machines yearn for ideals or kill just for the sake of it.
Once we look past the truly impressive machines, Kirby's Katherine is easily the most compelling part of the narrative, as her part-human, part-machine nature contains a kernel of complexity. Katherine wasn't always a cyborg, so her machine instincts are learned, not ingrained, which creates a conflict of interest with the rest of the group, who seem equally repulsed and fascinated by her. Gomez could've weaved a more than decent character study with these aspects, but chose not to, shifting his attention instead to breathless video-game-inspired battles that are mindlessly fun. That said, it doesn't hurt to enjoy a fun little sci-fi for what it is, so this one is for anyone who enjoys Kirby's work or likes watching killer robots beat the hell out of humans.
"Kill Command" is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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