Interceptor

This suspenseful action film gets bogged down by some convoluted character motives, but the formula works, and Pataky is credible as a Die Hard-style hero. Interceptor should serve as a calling card for Spain-born Pataky, of Fast & Furious fame, who's been circling Hollywood leading lady roles for decades. The movie is strongest on the action front, with a perfectly claustrophobic mid-sea setting and well-choreographed fights. There are also memorable moments confirming villain Kessel's instability, like when he draws a sad face with his finger in fresh blood. Other characters, like Shah and Beaver (Aaron Glenane), feel more like simplistic representations of ideas -- e.g., Beaver's screen saver of a blond woman with a machine gun in front of an American flag. (And an uncredited role by Pataky's real-life husband, Chris Hemsworth, could have been worked into the storyline to make it less conspicuously gratuitous.)

This clearly shows how the script is trying but struggling to go deep. Lots of big ideas are thrown around in this Australian co-production about capitalism, American exceptionalism, immigration, the American dream, and more. But none of them really explain the terrorists' motives and why they're fine with nuking 12 different densely populated metropolitan areas. Instead, they come off sounding a bit like a first-year college student who's just discovered that he disagrees with his parents' worldview.