Nerdly » ‘Future Soldier’ Review

02nd May2023

‘Future Soldier’ Review

by Kevin Haldon

Stars: Sean Earl McPherson, Yasmine Alice, Ellie Pickering, Ian Curd, Adam Fox, Sarah Whitehouse, Miranda Heath, Nathan Haymer-Bates, Natalie Reed | Written and Directed by Ed Kirk

Every now and then a director comes along with a movie that honestly feels like they have sat me down and said “Hey Kev, what do you wanna see? If you could make a movie, what would it look like?” Then they go off and make that movie like some goddamn movie idea stealer. Today Ed Kirk was the director and Future Soldier was that movie. A movie that almost systematically works its way down the checklist of ‘how to make a badass retro-feeling cyberpunk world-building adventure that could convince you it was made on a big budget’.

I saw the trailer for Future Soldier and kinda lost my sh*t, this just looked like it had a bit of everything I would normally go in for. A cyberpunk aesthetic akin to your Blade Runner, Akira or Fifth Element. A bunch of badass punchy-kicky action calling to memory films like Equilibrium, a nice dollop of one-liner goodness and of course that electro-synth soundtrack that instantly just made me want to revisit all the best action sci-fi flicks of the 80s and 90s. In short, this trailer had got me excited… But I was well aware of this being a super-low budget and let’s be honest, it’s not the hardest thing in the world to cut a convincing trailer. Did it meet my expectations?

Sean Earl McPherson is bounty hunter Mo Harrington, formerly retired but after uncovering a Phalanx Corp conspiracy, he is forced to re-team with hardened ex-cop Xoey Cass in a race against time to stop the baddies from wreaking havoc on Supercity Europe. As if Mo didn’t have enough to deal with though, his past as an enhanced Hoplite super-soldier is coming back to haunt him and forces him to face some demons. Our heroes must take down the big bad corporation and any number of masked assassins as they fight to stop ‘Project: Centurion’.

Okay then let’s do this… Firstly I want to applaud Ed Kirk and his crew because this was a low-budget movie with MASSIVE ideas and dreams that on paper seemed maybe a little out of reach. However, this talented group managed to make a completely believable and convincing futuristic dystopian universe that felt lived in, alive, like it had a beating heart. Equal parts glorious vibrancy and sinister seedy darkness. This was a world I wanted to know more about. In one hour and 20 minutes they have built a world I cared more about than the one we currently reside.

The cast is a great blend with McPherson holding it down In the lead as a man whose past is unclear but wears the battle scars of a travelled warrior. Yasmine Alice as Cass ends up being somewhat of the MVP of the movie as a strong female lead with a touch of the Ellen Ripleys. I loved that we didn’t know EVERYTHING about our heroes or this world, it leads to a bigger unexplored universe for us to get excited about exploring and it’s been a while since a story that is so small and contained felt like the possibilities were endless.

Then there is the action. Fight choreography was superb and came as a welcome addition. As a fan of movies like The Raid and whatever Scott Adkins project has been put out this month, I was all in for punches and kicks. One of the instant things you realise with the fights is that they have been given time to flow and while frenetically paced they don’t feel like they have been edited to within an inch of their lives, meaning the camera (our perspective) moves freely in and out of the big hits.

I have to give flowers to every department though because the score and overall sound is stunning, the type of soundtrack you would buy on vinyl if you were so inclined. The look and feel of things like set design, props and costume all add up, in the end, to make this micro-budget flick feel like Ridley Scott in the earlier stages of his career.

I might get a little heat for this one but honestly, I was massively impressed with what has been accomplished here and I would blindly go into a sequel or spin-off of any kind. It’s a tight 82 minutes and doesn’t waste a second. There are the odd flaws if you look hard enough but if you’re doing that then you are missing something truly great. A movie that definitely has an audience out there and I hope to god that Future Soldier finds its audience. Ed Kirk and his team deserve that much at least. I genuinely feel like this movie is required must-watch material.