We watched the Netflix original Spectral the other night frankly because we couldn’t find anything else and were bored. I really wasn’t expecting much but the preview put it firmly in the “it’s worth a shot category.
What I got was a lot better than expected. What stood out about this movie most was the original idea. It is so rare that there is a story that isn’t just a complete rehash of something else, but this one did a great job of originality.
Yes, it got a little stretchy in some of the “hey, lets build a quick spectral detector and guns,” but if you overlook that, it works. Sure, a lot of the costuming, equipment and sets looks like they were bought from a back lot collection of military/scifi set pieces, but that seemed to work as well.
I had the hardest time figuring out where I had seen the male lead, James Badge Dale, and it turns out that is because I saw him in a ton of nothing. He has played roles in dozens of things but never as a big role. I also was struggling to place the very familiar female lead, Emily Mortimer, who is also a veteran of tons of things. It was her role in Hugo (a film I loved and one of the very few I have rated 10 stars) that I remember her from most. It was also very good to see Max Martini in this – who I really liked in the TV series, The Unit.
The acting is good. The pacing is adequate. But, it is the story that keeps you watching.
RATING 6 out of 10 
by Chris Doelle
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