Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Rogue Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 12, 2021

While the team at Lionsgate is surely trying to find anything to entice viewers into watching “Rogue,” the cover of the Blu-ray offers a note that the picture is “from the director of ‘Silent Hill: Revelation’,” and provides images of star Megan Fox and a snarling male lion, which isn’t even featured in the film. There’s little on the outside that seems promising about the production, and it turns out there isn’t much to embrace about the movie, which presents itself as some type of actioner with a conservation message buried beneath layers of tepid plotting, bad screenwriting, and weak performances. “Rogue” begins with a bang, announcing itself with big guns, bad guys, and pogo stick cinematography (credited to Brendan Barnes), but it soon settles into a “Jaws” situation of survival on an African lion farm, only writers Isabel Bassett and M.J. Bassett (who also directs) don’t push hard enough on animal activity, making the effort more about exposition than exploitation, which dials down the potential fun factor of the material.

In the wilds of Africa, a team of mercenaries, led by Samantha (Mega Fox), are making their way to a terrorist camp run by Zalaam (Adam Deacon). Hidden away in the camp is Asila (Jessica Sutton), the kidnapped daughter of the governor, with Samantha’s team handed one shot to rescue the girl and make a quick escape. The plan goes south in the hurry, with the unit discovering human trafficking cages, forcing Samantha to take on more than she was expecting, putting Zalaam on her tail as she puts together an escape plan. Taking off into the night, the mercenaries find shelter in an empty lion farm, learning that the property was used to breed animals for hunting and Eastern medicine purposes. However, any sort of stability is threatened by the presence of a hungry lioness eager to maul the invaders, while Zalaam gets closer to the farm, thirsting for revenge as Samantha scrambles to protect her team and girls from trouble closing in on all sides.

Bassett isn’t known for quality filmmaking. She’s the helmer of “Solomon Kane,” “Inside Man: Most Wanted” (yes, there was a sequel to Spike Lee’s “Inside Man”), and the aforementioned “Silent Hill: Revelation,” a ridiculous, low-budget follow-up to the 2006 original that was largely created to profit off the trend of upcharge-crazy 3D releases. Bassett tries to make one from the heart with “Rogue,” using the South African lion farm system as the backdrop for a story of survival, trying to bring such horrors to the world of B-movie entertainment. She almost gets there with her opening act, spotlighting the experience of the central lioness as she’s slammed through a maze of cages, surrounded by the remains of animals bred to be stripped of parts and sold around the world. It’s a nightmare for the creature and rattling for viewers suddenly thrust into the meat market, run by callous employees who have no concerns beyond their payments. Into this area arrives Samantha and the mercenaries, a team of sassy types and one local who organize an infiltration plan, hoping to extract Asila without being detected.

Of course, chaos is triggered when the plan falls apart, setting up a battle between Samantha’s men and Zalaam, who doesn’t initially understand what’s going on, soon focusing his rage on the leader as she makes a hasty decision to not take one girl, but all the prisoners, soon forced to blast their way back into the open world. “Rogue” scrambles the view with absurd shaky-cam cinematography (Bassett’s not one to create organically suspenseful moments), but it has something with the set piece, which soon takes to trucks as the mercenaries speed toward a rendezvous point, eventually diving into a river to get away from Zalaam’s forces. There’s big action and adventure, and the screenplay makes sure to reinforce the horrors of the animal kingdom in the first 25 minutes. Unfortunately, such wild energy is largely abandoned for the rest of “Rogue,” which settles down with Samantha as she assesses the situation inside the lion camp, with long dialogue exchanges permitting viewers to understand character backstories and enjoy dull banter with the generic supporting cast.

Ammo is in short supply and help isn’t going to arrive until dawn, leaving Samantha at the mercy of the roving lioness, who appears only intermittently in “Rogue,” realized with atrocious visual effects that turn one of the primary threats of the picture into a PlayStation 1 creation. It’s a lion attack movie that doesn’t have the cash to create a believable lion attack, making one wonder what Bassett was thinking when she pushed the project through the system (with 17 credited producers, it’s also a wonder why more money wasn’t allocated to decent CGI efforts). Without any fear factor, “Rogue” can’t go “Jaws,” leaving the bulk of the endeavor to shoot-outs between the warring sides, and such violence isn’t sold with any particular urgency from Fox, who’s wildly miscast as a seasoned military warrior.

Rogue Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation brings viewers into the heat of Africa, with the opening act of "Rogue" offering more saturated colors to keep up with style demands and sell the natural wonder of the setting. Greenery is vivid, along with golden sunlight. Skintones are natural. Lion farm action takes place at night, offering bright lighting sources and deep red bloodshed. Delineation remains communicative with evening action. Detail is sharp, doing well with facial surfaces and textured mercenary gear. Distances are precise. Terrible CGI is easily spotted due to such clarity. Some mild banding is detected.

Rogue Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix provides clear dialogue exchanges, which involve a lot of in-the-moment banter and heavy accents. Scoring is supportive with satisfactory instrumentation, with some percussive thump and surround presence. Sound effects are alert, offering sharp gunfire that utilizes some separation and panning in the surrounds. Explosions are weirdly underwhelming, emerging without expected emphasis.

Rogue Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary #1 features co-writer/director M.J. Bassett, co-writer/actress Isabel Bassett, and actor Philip Winchester.

• Commentary #2 features M.J. Bassett.

• Cast Interviews (48:38, HD) collect conversations with Megan Fox, Philip Winchester, Sisanda Henna, Greg Kriek, and Isabel Bassett. The interviews are conducted on-set, eliminating any interesting post mortem analysis of "Rogue." Topics include a rehashing of the plot, character beats, co-stars, and suspiciously bright praise of the South African locations (for a film that criticizes the country). There's nothing here of value, but it's interesting to see how tired everyone is, with Fox and Bassett barely staying awake as they go into used car salesperson mode.

• And a Trailer (2:18, HD) is included.

Rogue Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Rogue" doesn't create any tension as the story juggles predators, with Bassett making a mistake to open the feature with sustained action, unable to match the first act with anything as grand in the rest of the film. "Rogue" tries to get things going with political complications and "who's the real terrorist?" questioning, only to close with a sudden statement about the lion farm situation in South Africa. The production doesn't know exactly what it wants to say, throttling pace and diminishing excitement, eschewing a basic level of enjoyable B-movie simplicity (lioness devours all) to make an actioner that settles into an extended nap after a boisterous introduction.