Exterritorial - No Entry Ever

Streaming on Netflix

    It's rare to find a movie that has all the pieces that should make for a compelling experience, only to be disappointed by how poorly they're assembled. Exterritorial is a film that should technically work, containing all of the necessary elements for an engaging and action-packed thrill ride, but none of the pieces mix well together. Everything is too quick, not well-developed, and cheesy beyond acceptability. Not to mention the ridiculous English dubbing that does not match the intended feel of the film, nor the intensity of the German actors. The original German audio may be better, but I doubt it would be enough to fix the rest of the film. 

    The story follows a German woman named Sara, who accepts a job in America and prepares to travel overseas with her six-year-old son, Josh. Sara is a former special forces soldier and suffers from episodes of PTSD, though she claims to be reasonably better. While waiting in the American consulate, little Josh suddenly goes missing, and Sara is determined to find him. However, the authorities within the consulate appear to be under the impression that Sara is likely having a delusional episode brought on by her PTSD, as others within the building claim to have not seen the boy. Desperate to find the truth, Sara embarks on a one-woman mission through the consulate, unaware of the greater conspiracy she may uncover. 

    While this sounds like a good setup for a riveting thriller (and it is), none of the pieces mesh well together to form a cohesive, concise, or even compelling narrative. The pacing moves too fast for any kind of character development to actually happen, the dialogue is clunky and amateur to the point where it feels as though a high school student wrote it, and all of the events within the narrative feel less like a progression of character actions and more like workers going through the motions moving down an assembly line. Not to mention all of these terribly assembled pieces are brought to life through boring, uniform, and flat cinematography. Although the film earns a few bonus points for pulling off a handful of well-executed one-take action scenes, it's not enough to compensate for the lack of texture in the images. 

    Exterritorial is a slog of a film! None of the pieces fit; the story is too predictable, and the English dub's performances leave a lot to be desired. If you're in the mood for a heart-pounding thriller about a mother searching for her missing child in a confined space, watch Flightplan with Jodi Foster. It's a significantly better execution of the same idea, with superior writing, layered performances, textured images, and a notably improved sense of narrative pacing. Not to mention one of the few films in which Sean Bean survives the entire story. 

    Tell Netflix's algorithm to give this film a double thumbs down! 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.