Interceptor

"You planned for every possible outcome, but you couldn't plan for me."

Interceptor is an action drama directed by Matthew Reilly and released by Netflix in 2022.

The film marks Reilly's directorial debut, and is an original story unrelated to Reilly's other works.

Loglines[]

When sixteen nuclear missiles are launched at the US, and a violent coordinated attack simultaneously threatens her remote missile interceptor station, one Army lieutenant must utilize her years of tactical training and military expertise to save humanity as we know it.

The tough and reality-bruised Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky) finds herself in charge of a lone nuclear missile interceptor base in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after she is wrongfully drummed out of her dream job at the Pentagon. When a simultaneous coordinated attack then threatens the base itself, Collins comes face-to-face with the charismatic yet crooked Alexander Kessel (Luke Bracey), a former US military intelligence officer intent on carrying out an unthinkable plan. With only minutes on the clock, Collins must utilize her years of tactical training and military expertise to determine who she can trust and stop Kessel and his covert mercenaries from completing their twisted and terrible mission.

Plot[]

In Alaska, the U.S. nuclear missile interceptor base at Fort Greely is assaulted by some of its own staff, who destroy their transmitters to prevent the base for calling for help, execute the other soldiers and destroy the controls for the interceptor missiles.

On a chopper in the Pacific Ocean, Captain Joanna Julia "JJ" Collins is en-route to the SBX-1 nuclear missile interceptor platform, to which she has been reluctantly reassigned to serve as the facility's missile system specialist. Upon being dropped off, Collins is led by Ensign Washington to the office of Lieutenant Colonel Clark Marshall, who is pleased to see her again. Marshall tries to reassure the disheartened Collins that he tried to help her as best he could, but the posting to SBX-1 was the best he could do, and that he believed her story about a previous incident from the start. As Washington takes Collins to hew new quarters, the Ensign confesses that she and many other women are proud of Collins for what she's done, as what happened to her has happened to a lot of them as well; this comes as little reassurance to Collins, who quickly finds that a provocative photo of her with the words "bounty hunt" written on it has been stuck to her mirror. Collins turns to a good luck card from her father, Frank Collins, for comfort, but has little time to process when Marshall arrives at her quarters and urges her to join him in the command center immediately.

As they head to the command center, Marshall informs Collins that there is an active shooter situation at Fort Greely caused by their own people, but the status of their interceptors remains unknown since they're not responding to communications. Once at the command center, Collins takes her post as Corporal Rahul Shah reports that Fort Greely is not being jammed, but rather that their communications seem to be shut off. Marshall asks Corporal Beaver Baker for a status update on a Russian attack submarine that has been lurking around SBX-1 for months; Baker responds that it is still sitting nearby. Believing this to merely be an exercise, Baker begins aggravating Collins until Shah reports that SBX-1 is being assigned primary early warning status, and Marshall reminds everyone that this means that they are now the lone nuclear missile defence for the United States and to set their differences aside. Collins then picks up NSA radio chatter about a Russian ICBM base in Tavlinka having been attacked and sixteen of their Topol-M missiles taken, before Marshall receives a call from the Pentagon directing them to a video of a Russian terrorist confirming the missiles' theft and their intent to fire them on America.

Marshall takes Collins aside to confirm that she is up to their current task; once she assures him not to worry about her, Marshall moves to find Captain Lou Welsh. Collins has a realisation and follows Marshall, relaying her belief that since the incidents at Greely and Tavlinka were both inside jobs, there might be infiltrators at SBX-1 as well. As she finishes speaking, Collins notices some of the janitors nearby and locks eyes with one of them, who orders to the others to go. One shoots and kills Marshall, though Collins kills him in return and takes cover. As the enemy leader orders his people to grab Marshall's key-card, Collins manages to take it first and retreat into the corridor leading into the command center. Before the blast door closes, one of the assailants, Mikael, follows her; during their struggle, Mikael's gun goes off and clips Baker in the side of the head, rendering him unconscious, and a tank of sulfuric acid carried by Mikael is ruptured. Collins eventually ends the fight by fatally stabbing Mikael in the eye with the frame of her sidearm.

Seeing the enemy leader watching from behind the door's window, Collins takes Marshall's key-card and leaves it to dissolve in the acid before heading into the command center, asking the shocked Shah to confirm that he has already sent out an SOS. After sealing the second blast door, the intercom pings, and Collins answers to find herself speaking to the enemy leader. Collins suggests that if he leaves now he might escape with his life, while he retorts she might keep hers if she lets him in. Confirming he and his people are in league with the instigators at Greely and the thieves from Tavlinka, the man identifies himself as Alexander Kessel, and warns Collins that while he and his people have already killed or contained everyone else on SBX-1, he will let her live if she lets him into the command center to disable it. Collins refuses, and so Kessel has some of his people begin preparing blowtorches to start cutting through the first door, reminding Collins that any help will be too far away to reach SBX-1 in time before they breach the command center. After asking Shah how many janitors there are, Collins refutes Kessel's claim to have already killed everyone else on board, though Kessel reveals that nerve agents released though the ventilation system put SBX-1's crew to sleep, allowing his team to execute them with ease, and that he and Collins wouldn't be conversing if the command center shared the same A/C system.

A priority call alert from the White House's Situation Room sounds off, and Collins mutes the intercom before answering and informing General Dyson of the situation, as well as an estimate that the enemies will need 30 minutes to cut their way through each door. Dyson relays that while the shooters at Greely are all dead, the controls for the interceptors there have all been disabled with acid, leaving SBX-1 as the only defence against nuclear attack left. While SEALs are now inbound to SBX-1, it will take 90 minutes for them to arrive. President Wallace joins Dyson in the Situation Room, and reminds Collins that the only reason the Russian terrorists haven't launched their stolen missiles yet is due to SBX-1 still being under control. As they cannot evacuate 16 cities in time following a missile's launch, she and Dyson urge Collins to retain control of the command center.

Shah becomes frantic at the idea of holding the infiltrators off for 90 minutes, as he is a signal specialist and not a combatant, telling Collins that she shouldn't count on him. Kessel contacts the command center again, revealing he has Captain Welsh captive and threatens to execute him unless Collins opens the doors. Collins refuses to do so, and so Kessel kills Welsh. Collins proclaims that Kessel can kill anyone he wants, but she will not concede. Shah continues to fret, though Collins urges him to calm down, reminding Shah that they still have a job to do. Shah confirms that there are no other direct or indirect routes into the command center, but to be certain, Collins asks Shah to get them a visual on the external hatches.

At that moment, the lower hatch is blown open and another assailant, Zhang, bursts in. He and Collins begin fighting hand-to-hand while Shah retrieves a shotgun, though the Corporal is unable to pull the trigger, forcing Collins to take it and shoot Zhang dead. After examining the hatch to confirm no else was accompanying Zhang, Collins realises that the shotgun is now useless, leaving her and Shah without any weapons. As Shah laments their situation, and the fact that he has not seen his three children in six months, Collins reassures him that the best thing Shah can do for his kids is to help keep the stolen missiles in check.

A short time later, as Shah and Collins confirm that there are no survivors among SBX-1's staff via the base's cameras, Kessel pings the intercom and displays the provocative photo of Collins. She retorts that he's not the first to throw that in her face, and points out that while he may have spent years planning for every outcome in his operation, he couldn't plan for her since she was only reassigned to SBX-1 the previous night. Kessel concedes that she might have been unexpected, but she is not unbeatable.

Kessel then reveals that he knows Collins' backstory; three years ago, Collins was due to get her dream assignment, however, a three-star General at the Pentagon offered her a full ride in exchange for sexual favours. While she reported the General for his conduct, Collins' claims were dismissed and she was put back under the General's command. While she was fortunately wearing a wire the next time the General harassed her, allowing her to get the General discharged, Collins began receiving hate mail and death threats from fellow soldiers in the Army for her actions, eventually leading to the exposure of the photo. All of this led Collins to attempt suicide by taking pills in a bathtub, though her father arrived in time to save her life. His spiel over, Kessel tries to convince Collins that they should be working together, and even offers her $30 million in exchange for opening the doors, though Collins doesn't answer him.

Soon, Kessel and his remaining people have finished cutting through the first blast door, and move forward to the second door leading to the command center. Kessel makes one more request for Collins to take his offered money, and though she stills believes they have time before he cuts through the final door, Kessel states that she doesn't. At that moment, Baker, having regained consciousness, shoots Collins and Shah in their bulletproof vests with a concealed handgun before opening the second door for Kessel. As he and his people take over the command center, Kessel reminds Collins that he had given her options. As Baker and Nikolai zip-tie them to chairs, Collins and Shah call the former out as a traitor; Baker claims that America is the traitor for letting immigrants like them to enter the country and take over his job, and that he's decided to look out only for himself after taking $10 million from Kessel for his help. Collins snorts at Baker blaming everyone else but himself, headbutting him when he gets too close, and Kessel keeps Baker from retaliating as Kira reports that she has control of the Emergency Broadcast System with which Kessel will broadcast to the U.S..

The Situation Room at the White House makes contact and learns of the takeover and Baker's defection. Once the EBS has taken over all smart devices across the U.S., Kessel introduces himself as the son of the "utterly unqualified U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations" and the situation with the stolen missiles and the commandeered interceptor base, and that one city will be targeted first before giving the order for his associates in Tavlinka to launch the first nuke. After the missile launches, Kessel reveals that its target is Los Angeles, and that once the missile hits the remaining 15 ICBMs will be fired on San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Memphis, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C., inciting widespread panic. Kessel claims that America is the greatest lie ever told and is rushing towards collapse, and that his actions will help the U.S. start over so that they can do things right next time.

Kessel takes the camera over to Shah, dismissing that while Shah cares for America, Hindus like him are subjected to additional screenings and other persecutions. Though he is invited to share such experiences, Shah instead insults Kessel, and Baker punches him unconscious as retribution. Kessel turns to Collins and reveals her story to the watching Americans, deriding the treatment she had received and praising Collins' integrity in spite of that and his financial offer, while also revealing that the photo was actually for a women's soccer team's charity calendar. As Collins answers Kessel's question of what position she played (goalkeeper), she continues speaking to reveal that a common injury is a dislocated thumb; dislocating her thumbs now, Collins is able to slip out of her restraints.

Collins goes for Kessel's gun, and as the two struggle over it, a shower of bullets downs Nikolai. Collins is able to force both Kessel and Baker back into the corridor, which she seals once more to lock them out, leaving Kira as the only assailant left in the room. The two women engage in a brutal fight, during which Collins manages to launch an interceptor at the Los Angeles-bound missile, destroying it. While Kira manages to shoot her in the arm, Collins ultimately emerges victorious in the fight, fatally shooting Kira. Baker seethes over the turn of events, reminding Kessel that he had warned him that Collins would be trouble and that they should have killed her at first chance. Kessel remains calm, certain that this is only a setback and points out that they have backup plans.

As she crudely tends to her arm, Collins receives a call from the White House; while Collins cannot disable the EBS, Dyson assures her that the SEALs are 50 minutes out, and that they have pulled Kessel's file. A former intelligence operative in the U.S. Army focusing first on Russian intelligence and later serving as a psychological operations and torture specialist, Kessel was discharged when he killed two prisoners during an enhanced interrogation. Shah regains consciousness, and Collins gives him a short summary of their situation as she removes his restraints before sitting down to rest.

Drifting off to sleep, Collins recalls the morning after her suicide attempt, when her father encouraged her not to let the people threatening her get to her and reminded Collins that he taught her to never stop fighting. Shah wakes Collins after fifteen minutes to inform her that Kessel wants to talk again. Over the intercom, Kessel admits that he is a monster, but one born out of a failed society that rewards money and not effort, which was how his father got his role as an ambassador. Collins dismisses that Kessel is acting out because of "daddy issues", at which point Kessel starts talking about Collins' father before revealing he has someone holding her father hostage in his own home. Collins pleads for his release, but Kessel has his operative to cut off one of Frank's fingers, then tells Collins that she can stop further torment if she opens the door for him. When she is allowed to speak with him, Frank reminds Collins to never stop fighting in defiance, and so Kessel orders him killed, with a gunshot going off before the feed is cut, causing Collins to sob in despair.

Furious that his gambit didn't work, Kessel goes to Marshall's body and uses his fingerprint to gain access to the facility's main network. Shah questions how Kessel knew to have someone in place at Frank's when the order to reassign Collins to SBX-1 was only made the previous night. Kessel sneers that Collins is a pariah in the Army's ranks, so while the decision to reassign her was actually made three days earlier, she was only informed at the last possible moment. Kessel then reveals he is activating a scuttling protocol to have SBX-1 sink itself, after which it completes he will be free to have the remaining missiles fired without worry. Collins decides to head down into the hulls to manually close the ballast valves to buy them enough time until the SEAL's arrival in 25 minutes. Shah points out her injuries and volunteers to go instead, plunging out into the sea through the lower external hatch. Baker sees Shah's exit and goes to deal with him while Kessel calls his Russian contact to find out how far the Russian sub is.

Shah enters the hull and reaches the controls for the valves, which he begins activating and slowing the sinking process. However, he realises he is about to have company; Collins orders him to escape, though Shah knows that it's too late and continues, apologising for not being more help earlier and asks that she tell his children that he loves him. Baker drops into the hull and holds Shah at gunpoint. Shah tries to talk him down and tell Baker that he is not a murderer. Baker agrees, proclaiming that he is a patriot before pulling the trigger and killing Shah. Kessel commends Shah's bravery to Collins, admitting that he had dismissed him as a non-threat because of his psychiatric evaluation and so hadn't bothered to put people onto Shah's family.

Collins then sees a proximity alert caused by the approaching Russian submarine, designated as the K-83 Danilov. Recalling a phone call Kessel made immediately upon entering the command center, Collins realises that, after relaying a bank account to his contact, asked that "Danny", aka the Danilov, move in. Collins tells Kessel to cut the EBS feed or she will reveal his Swiss account to the world. Once he relents, Collins reveals that she has determined that Kessel is no fanatic, he is simply a mercenary-for-hire, and starts covering the glass window on the blast window with duct-tape so that he can no longer see into the command center. The shaken Kessel tries to claim that it doesn't matter that he is being paid and that the reasons for his actions are still valid, though his slip-up has allowed Collins to realise that Kessel wants to leave alive, and once she has finished taping the window cuts off the intercom to ignore Kessel's threats.

Establishing contact with the White House again, Collins learns from Dyson that the SEALs are 17 minutes away, however, SBX-1 will sink in 15 minutes, thus the moment SBX-1 is underwater, the Russian terrorists will launch their missiles. Collins quickly comes up with an idea to let Kessel take the command center, at which point the missiles will be fired, but then Collins will be free to retake the command center and fire the interceptors before SBX-1 sinks. The people in the Situation Room are hesitant, and a game theory strategist rates her odds of succeeding at only 14%. Collins insists that she can succeed, and, with President Wallace's consent, starts making her preparations, offering a final taunt to Kessel on the intercom.

Kessel radios Baker to find out how far from breaching the command center from the lower hatch he is, and Baker reports that he's almost in. Once he is in the command center, he sees no sign of Collins, and since the upper hatch is open he surmises that that she's on the roof. After Baker lets Kessel and Ivan inside, Kessel calls the Russian terrorist to order them to fire all of the missiles, believing that he's in control of the situation as he resumes the EBS broadcast. As the missiles are launched and begin their flight towards the U.S., Kessel orders Baker to go after and kill Collins. Beaver discovers that Collins is not on the roof and relays this to Kessel, who with Ivan begins sweeping the command center. Disguised within a hanging hazmat suit, Collins takes out Ivan, usurps his gun and opens fire on Kessel, forcing him to flee the command center.

Unfortunately, the interceptor-launch button has been damaged by Kessel's acid, forcing Collins to plug a laptop into the launch platform on the roof as an alternate solution. Baker interrupts her before she can launch the interceptors, and the pair begin fighting. Collins manages to stun Baker and wrap razor wire around his neck, then throws him down through the upper and lower hatches around the command center; though he pulls her down with him, Baker is decapitated by the taut wire mid-fall, while Collins plunges into the sea. Though battered and tired from the ordeal, Collins manages to climb her way back up to the command center and then on to the roof, where she narrowly manages to launch the interceptors in time. The 15 missiles are quickly destroyed, and the Americans watching the feed on the still-active EBS cheer for Collins' success.

Kessel emerges onto the roof through the hatch, and upon spying Collins asserts that he had brought America to the brink and will do so again. Though he starts beating on Collins, she is more than capable of defending herself, and Kessel is quickly brought to his knees. They are interrupted by the surfacing of the Danilov nearby, and Kessel believes he is free to escape. However, the Russian Sub Captain steps aside to reveal a sniper standing behind him, who shoots Kessel instead of Collins, to the mercenary's brief moment of surprise before he dies. The Sub Captain tips his hat to Collins before re-entering the Danilov, which quickly depart as the choppers carrying the SEALs finally arrive over the nearly-sunken SBX-1.

Some time later, Collins is recovering in hospital, surrounded by numerous cards and flowers sent by grateful Americans. Not long after waking up, she is visited by President Wallace, who reveals that Fort Greely is operational again and that SBX-1 will be replaced as soon as possible. Wallace commends Collins on her actions and offers her a role among her National Security staff, which Collins happily accepts. Wallace then reveals that Collins has another visitor: her father, who was saved thanks to his fellow Army buddies also living in his veterans' home being quick to come to his rescue after seeing the broadcast, and his severed finger has been reattached. Wallace leaves them as Frank gifts his daughter with a pet turtle that had belonged to Shah and was recovered from the wreckage of SBX-1. Collins laments Shah's loss, and Frank suggests that she talk about him so that he won't forgotten, prompting Collins to share what she knew of her friend.

Cast and Crew[]

Cast[]

Elsa Pataky - Captain JJ Collins
Luke Bracey - Alexander Kessel
Aaron Glenane - Corporal Beaver Baker
Mayen Mehta - Corporal Rahul Shah
Rhys Muldoon - Lieutenant Colonel Clark Marshall
Colin Friels - Frank Collins
Zoe Carides - President Wallace
Marcus Johnson - General Dyson
Belinda Jombwe - Ensign Washington
Paul Caesar - Captain Lou Welsh
Ingrid Kleinig - Kira
Steve Morris - Mikael
Tim Wong - Zhang
Caspar Hardaker - Ivan
Chris Weir - Wade
Steven A Davis - Nikolai
Darius Paczynski - Terrorist Leader
Kim Knuckey - General Crowthorne
Mark Dessaix - Game Theory Strategist
Ché Baker - Corporal Swain
Cristian Saliadarre - Russian Sub Captain
Sam Hargrave - Russian Sniper
Brigid Zengen - Countdown Voice
Janelle McMenamin - News Anchor
Nicolas Barker-Pendree - New Anchor
Cathy DiZhang - News Anchor
Deniz Akdeniz - Lieutenant Sam Harris
Tim Draxl - Frantic Soldier
Nick Drummond - Frantic Soldier
Duncan Ragg - Frantic Soldier
Matt Doran - Chopper Captain
Ric Herbert - Air Traffic Control
Gregory Washington - Air Traffic Control
Chris Hemsworth - Jed the Buy-Fi Employee (uncredited)

Stunts[]

Hayley Wright - JJ Stunt Double
Sarah Laider - JJ Stunt Double (Underwater)
Aidan Gillett - Alexander Stunt Double
Chris Weir - Alexander Stunt Double
Paul Pedersen - Beaver Stunt Double

Crew[]

Matthew Reilly - Director, Writer, Producer
Stuart Beattie - Writer, Producer
Matthew Street - Producer
Michael Boughen - Producer
Peter D. Graves - Executive Producer
Chris Hemsworth - Executive Producer, Actor
Christopher Mapp - Executive Producer
Kathy Morgan - Executive Producer
Robert Slaviero - Executive Producer
Ross Emery - Cinematographer
Rowan Maher - Editor
Michael Lira - Music
Ingrid Kleinig - Second Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator, Actor
Tim Wong - Stunt Choreographer, Actor
Ché Baker - Production Assistant, Actor

Animals[]

Unspecified Pet Turtle Species
- Turbo

Locations[]

Pacific Ocean
- SBX-1
United States of America
- New York State
  - New York City
- California
  - Los Angeles
    - Buy-Fi Electrical
  - San Francisco (mentioned only)
- Maryland
  - Washington, D.C.
    - White House
    - Pentagon (mentioned only)
- Arizona
  - Scottsdale
    - Patriots Valley Veterans Retirement Home
      - Frank Collins' Room
- Washington State
  - Seattle (mentioned only)
- Nevada
  - Las Vegas (mentioned only)
- Ohio
  - Cincinnati (mentioned only)
- Texas
  - Dallas (mentioned only)
- Colorado
  - Denver (mentioned only)
- Tennessee
  - Memphis (mentioned only)
- Illinois
  - Chicago (mentioned only)
- Missouri
  - St. Louis (mentioned only)
- Georgia
  - Atlanta (mentioned only)
- Massachusetts
  - Boston (mentioned only)
- Pennsylvania
  - Philadelphia (mentioned only)
- Florida
  - Miami (mentioned only)
Russia
- Tavlinka
  - ICMB Base (mentioned only)
  - Terrorist Launch Site
Spain (mentioned only)

Development[]

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Announced on March 04, 2021, Interceptor is a Netflix original film, and will be directed by Matthew Reilly in his directorial debut. Reilly and Stuart Beattie wrote the screenplay together, with Beattie also serving as one of the film's producers, alongside Matthew Street and Michael Boughen. Executive producers include Chris Hemsworth, Kathy Morgan, Christopher Mapp, Robert Slaviero and Peter D. Graves.

Production was announced to take place in New South Wales, Australia, and that the film would star Elsa Pataky (The Fast and the Furious franchise, Tidelands) and Luke Bracey (Holidate, Point Break). [1]

Filming was confirmed to have begun by April 17, with Reilly sharing an on-set photo of himself and Pataky on his Facebook page. [2]

A month later on May 19th, Reilly confirmed on his Facebook page that filming had wrapped on Interceptor, and that the editing process had begun. [3]

On August 26th, within the comments of Facebook post noting the upcoming Netflix TUDUM showcase, a global fan event showcasing its content the following September, an event that would include Interceptor, Reilly answered a fan's question about the film's release date, saying that Interceptor would be released some time in the first quarter of 2022. [4] Shortly after the TUDUM showcase, Reilly released two promotional images from the film, and also revealed Pataky's role as Captain JJ Collins.

In October 2021, Australian Story featured an insight into Matthew Reilly, during which it was confirmed that Reilly had written Interceptor back in 2017, with the intention of being able to film it below a certain budget (US $15 million) as he knew that he would not be able to direct one of his own novels himself with the budget that would be allocated to a first-time director. Reilly eventually shared the script with Beattie, who enjoyed it and asked to be allowed to rewrite it. With Reilly's permission, Beattie did so within a few days, and offered to show the script to producers he knew. Reilly agreed, but (having long dreamed of becoming a film director) was adamant that he be the one to direct it, which the producers agreed to after Beattie vouched for him. [5]

Quotes[]

Matthew Reilly: "As those people who have read my novels know, I love telling big action stories that are told at a frenetic pace. I wanted to bring that kind of rocket-fast, relentless, high-stakes storytelling to film, and so Interceptor was born. Elsa is just perfect as our lead: a strong, independent and determined woman who, in the face of overwhelming odds, just refuses to give up.”

Matthew Street: “Bringing entertaining stories to the screen with tremendous international appeal is at the heart of all Ambience Entertainment films. When the opportunity came to work with award winning writers, Matthew Reilly and Stuart Beattie, we knew we had something special on our hands. Interceptor is a fantastic action story with a stellar cast and with the support of Netflix, we’re excited to see an Australian made film travel to audiences across the globe.”

NSW Minister for the Arts, Don Harwin: “Securing Netflix’s Interceptor is further proof that NSW’s screen industry is taking off, boosting our economy and creating jobs as international productions seek out the winning combination of highly skilled cast and crew, technical ability, competitiveness and creativity. As we put the world on notice that NSW is a global leader in film, it’s fitting that this action-blockbuster will once again showcase NSW’s production, CGI and VFX prowess.”

Promotion and Release[]

On April 13, various sources released promotional images from the film and reported that it would be released on June 3rd. [6] The same day, as broadwayworld.com released the same images, they also revealed a new synopsis for the film, which included the name of Luke Bracey's character, Alexander Kessel. In addition, Aaron Glenane, Mayen Mehta, Rhys Muldoon, Belinda Jombwe, Marcus Johnson, Colin Friels and Zoe Carides were confirmed in the report to also be a part of Interceptor's cast. [7]

The official trailer for Interceptor was released on May 5th. [8]

The film saw a limited theatrical release in select cinemas across Australia a week before the Netflix streaming release on May 26th, with Reilly and Pataky both present at a premiere event with other cast and crew members. [9] The film made its proper international release via Netflix on June 3rd as planned.

Reception[]

Critical response to Interceptor has ranged from mixed to negative, with some reviewers criticising a lack of originality, the 80's movies-styled clichés, a lack of characterisation and the nuanced story. On a more positive note, some critics noted the relevance Interceptor held towards the current political climate in regards to the renewed threat of nuclear attack owing to global tensions with Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine, and Pataky's performance.

Rotten Tomatoes have given the film a 43% rating, and stated that "Interceptor might spark a flicker of interest in viewers jonesing for a no-nonsense action thriller, but there's nothing here they haven't seen before" [10]. Metacritic, meanwhile, scored the film with a rating of 51 out of 100 based on six critic reviews; two were positive, three were mixed and one was negative [11].

Fans of Reilly's novels have largely responded to Interceptor more positively; many have enjoyed the similar style of storytelling to Reilly's books and were supportive of Reilly's first foray into film-making.

The film quickly rose to become the most-viewed movie on Netflix in several countries, maintaining its position for near-to two weeks as it collected a roughly 76 million hours-worth of viewing,

Videos and Images[]

Images[]

Image Gallery

Videos[]

INTERCEPTOR - Official Trailer - Netflix

Interceptor - Official Behind-The-Scenes Clip (2022) Elsa Pataky

Trivia[]

While none of Reilly's works have yet been adapted for film or television (as of 2024), Interceptor marks Reilly's directorial debut.
During Collins' final climb to launch the interceptors, part of the countdown voice's dialogue is - for unknown reasons - subtitled.
Reilly initially intended to cameo in the film as a customer stampeding out of the Buy-Fi electrical store, but circumstances behind the scenes altered this plan.
Production assistant Ché Baker is also credited as having portrayed a character known as Corporal Swain. However, the identity of the character on-screen is difficult to ascertain.
Composer Michael Lira was nominated by the APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association), AMCOS (Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society) and the AGSC (Australian Guild Of Screen Composers) for the 2022 Screen Music Awards' Feature Film Score Of The Year for his work on Interceptor. [12]