Battle Drone (2018) User Reviews

It is what it is

[itsachriskimmel · 6/10 · 5 March 2018]

Movie is by no means terrible, not great... But not syfy original bad.

Action scenes are pretty dope, kinda comedic at some points with the slow mo but they also use slow mo quite artistically. Character interactions are fine, sometimes humorous. Acting though isn't half bad, act pretty darn good.

If you're looking for a quick action movie with little plot and just tons of shooting then this is totally it. No regrets in watching it, even if it wasn't all that great.

Not that bad

[marx1369 · 6/10 · 2 September 2018]

This is very clearly an attempt to glom on to several other franchise movies of the same ilk

Having said that, the acting was pretty solid especially from a former Disney star playing a quirky sociopath.

The slow mo was very overused to the point of making some ill.

The drones were very generic and their wasnt enough background on the whole origin of them.

Good flick to just sit on your couch and have a few drinks while watching

A good one-off action movie

[kalima-72696 · 6/10 · 4 March 2018]

I do not understand the negative waves in the comments. This, of course, is not a mixture of the "Expendables" and "Team A" (it's impossible to understand everything - after reading the description, they decided what it will be?). This is an ordinary, quite good and quite watchable category B. Actors play well, no negative emotions their game does not cause. Characters are simple and so are good. Humor quality, in the style of such fighters.

• How many?
• Ten millions.
• No way!
• Good. Then twenty.

The shootings are well organized (and there are many of them), especially in the performance of Luis Mendilor (brother of Costas Mendilor, who played the main villain in 4-7 "Saw"). His character is charismatic, steep and mows under Max Payne and turns out he's not bad. And there is Grisha, who was played by Oleg Taktarov. Also a cool character. Well, a little Michael Pare flashed. Fights are worked out and filmed best. It is visible zakos under "Sherlock Holmes" Guy Ritchie - capture of a scene in one frame with approximations and distances. Well done, we can see that we tried. Graphics are also on the level, given the budget of 3.500.000 $. Robots are made well, considering that many scenes with them are taken from close range and the graphics are not soapy. Explosions are few, but they are also on the level. Well, little things like shell cases and bullet traces, too, is, so this is not the level of Asylum, which was written about. Also worth mentioning is a good camerawork, beautiful scenery and locations of Pripyat and a good musical accompaniment, especially a song that plays at the beginning and end. The result - the film "The Maximum Impact" of Nevsky stood at 3.500.000 $ and it can not be watched for it is a rare trash with really bad graphics, disgusting action and characters that evoke hatred. The film "Hunted" has hardened 3.500.000 $ and it is suitable for one-time viewing and leaves behind positive emotions and good impressions (I personally left it). There is nothing super-cool in it, everything is simple but tasteful. And the fact that there is - done with diligence and love of the genre. So if you do not ike films of this genre - don't look. Because the film is not worth the negative, which is spilled on it.

6/10.

I Was Rooting for the Drone

[tclark55 · 1/10 · 17 March 2018]

Too many tough guy cliches. This is the kind of film where I want the heroes to die. I was rooting for the drones.

Gets to be monotone pretty quickly

[Wizard-8 · 3/10 · 5 March 2018]

Remember when Michael Pare was once a rising A-list movie star in major Hollywood releases? Well, that was such a long time ago, that I would understand why you may think that he has always slummed it in low budget B movies such as this one. Now, I definitely have nothing against B movies - I watch them all the time, and they can be pretty enjoyable at times. But this particular one, while far from the worst I have seen, is pretty bland stuff for the most part. Oh, the director does try to throw in some fancy camera tricks here and there(such as "bullet time" shots), but they come across as pretentious and in-your-face instead of being cool and blowing your mind. But that's not the real problem with this movie. The main problem with the movie is that while there is plenty of action, for the most part it has a very routine and familiar feel to it. It isn't exciting, it doesn't make you care for the protagonists' survival, and it isn't much better than simply showing people casually shooting their guns endlessly. The movie is fairly well photographed, but the pretty look of everything doesn't add much.

Oh, and the title is wrong - it should have been pluralized.

Any comparison to Predator, the A-Team or the Expendables is an insult to either franchise.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 3/10 · 3 March 2018]

This is the cheesy mess you get when a stuntman wants to become a writer and director. Stay a stuntman.

Mitch Gould's attempt to write and direct this film failed miserably. The only redeeming quality and the reason for a 3 and not a 1/10 is the concept of the story, and the fairly decent costumes of the 'drones'.

The dialogue was so cheesy, it made Louis Mandylor's character unbearable, as was his acting, and for that matter the rest of the cast. The blame for the acting failure goes primarily to the director for failing to direct his cast properly.

The slow-mo action scenes were also unbearable. This entire dragged out film was basically me watching a 5 year old play a video game and pause to change the viewing angles in slow motion. Right from the starting credits, I was hoping I wouldn't see any more of this cheesy directing, yet the film was full of it. Then you have the endless dragged-out gun fights of constant back and forth shooting where both sides just keep missing. Did a 5th grader write the screenplay? And what's with the western themed score?

Any comparison to Predator, the A-Team or the Expendables is an insult to either franchise.

I'm guessing either someones rich dad funded this mess or someone won a lottery - and wanted to become a filmmaker.

This film hurt to watch. Don't waste your time with it. A very generous 3/10 from me.

Not bad at all!

[ronsilva-11173 · 7/10 · 3 March 2018]

So sometimes you just want to watch a sloppy movie on your couch and not give a crap. This is one of those movies. It's not that great, but it's not bad at all. The action was decent, not a huge fan of Slomo though. The gun fights were pretty good and each character has their own "class" if you will. You got your heavy gunner, sniper, boom stick, ninja guy, etc. I actually loved watching the super and the ninja kick but. The robots were pretty cool. The first time you see them it looks like terrible cgi. Then later it gets much better. It's like they forgot to take out the bad shot early on. I recommend this if you want a dramaless shooter.

Disbelief can only be suspended so far.

[mr-D-2 · 2/10 · 12 March 2018]

To call this movie an awful piece of schlock would be generous. You have a group of mercenaries (the "heroes") who seem to have graduated from the Clint Eastwood school of "We Never Miss" vs. a group of combat androids who graduated from the CE school of "Our Weapons Never Need Reloading."

The heroes are composed of a token pretty girl who's a savant with a sniper rifle but an idiot about everything else (all she was missing was blond hair or a throwaway joke about dying it), a super ninja guy who fights only with knives, a shotgunner with all the depth of an empty coffee cup, a big russian who takes a fall off a four story building with several hundred pounds of android on top of him with no effect other than to make him take a nap for about the last third of the film, and an understated psychopath (in his exposition he reveals he was molested by a catholic priest as a kid, I'm guessing to justify how he's so nuts he makes the rest of the team fear for their own safety around him). They wind up being joined by a second token pretty girl - a CIA agent (with perfect makeup for a field mission) who naturally gets betrayed by her superiors.

The team is led by a former Army officer who seems to think he's Neo in that he carries a half-dozen pistols under his overcoat and just drops and draws when they run out, and he must have been an honors graduate from CE school because he can shoot out a satellite dish with a pistol from approximately half a mile away. He also has a backstory that's so cliche' I guessed it about two minutes into the film.

On the other side, we have your required evil general (who shares backstory with the leader of the heroes, naturally), an idiot CIA official, an arms dealer so awful that "douchebag" would be a step up for him, and a group of barely seen lackeys essentially playing a real life version of DOOM with VR gear and remote-controlled battle droids.

Oh, and this all takes place in Chernobyl, but never mind the inherent dangers of THAT.

The only way this film compares to "The A-Team" (and I mean the TV series) is the amount of undisciplined gunfire that doesn't hit anybody. The only way it compares to "The Expendables" is that nobody should have walked away.

I couldn't even find it in myself to give this thing a star for the eye candy or the special effects. Two stars for simply having the stones to spend money making a piece of drek like this.

Solid for a B movie

[trader-andy · 7/10 · 13 April 2018]

Nothing here screams blockbuster, but a story that didn't seem too cheesy and characters that kept things moving and interesting. Save it for a night when want something with some action but that doesn't make you think too hard and enjoy.

"Expendables" meets the "A-Team" - You are kidding - Yes?

[centaur1135 · 3/10 · 2 March 2018]

The person who made that analogy has obviously not watched much of the A-Team. there is no resemblance at all. Don't be allured by that click-bate as I was.

This is an unremarkable story, as is much of the filming. About half way through I determined that I had better things to do.

My score of 3 goes to the amount that I watched. The only character of interest is Alexandra Hayes played by Dominique Swain, She does a brilliant (10/10) job in a less than average story. But unfortunately does not save the movie. My score for the movie would have been 1 if it had not been for Dominique Swain's contribution.

As the story progressed it seemed to regress to that of a video game.

In summary, A great movie for people of low IQ

Battle Drone: A HUGE surprise

[Platypuschow · 8/10 · 30 March 2019]

Battle Drone, with a title like that you have to assume the worst right? Based on the cast and plot outline the film sounded like a rather run of the mill Scyfy Original type and I guess it is, but an oddly good one.

It tells the story of an elite mercenary team tasked with a mission in Chernobyl. Once they arrive however they come under attack from an unstoppable unknown force that pushes their skills to the limit.

I'm not a big action movie fan and Scyfy originals though charming are usually seven shades of awful so Battle Drone never really stood a chance. So why have I rated it so high?

The reason, well because it's suspiciously enjoyable. The cast are familiar faces who you'll likely recognize but not put a name to, they demonstrate why you remember them in the first place and are a bunch of decent character actors. The SFX are well above par, this is not your usual Scyfy Adobe Aftereffects ugliness. The plot is very enjoyable, the cinematography is stylish and it's just all put together nicely.

Sure this isn't even a B-Movie, it's C, it's made for television stuff but it shows what people with competence can do despite the little resources they have at their disposal.

I really enjoyed Battle Drone and can confidently say I'm shocked at that fact. The very definition of take your brain out entertainment, this was a lot of fun.

The Good:

Stylish

Memorable moments

Competently made

Good soundtrack

Interesting characters

The Bad:

Bit goofy a couple of times

Terminator rip-off.

[bettycjung · 8 April 2018]

4/5/18. Not too bad for a Terminator rip-off. Enough action to keep you watching. However, don't expect to be mentally challenged by the plot.

Cheap and cheese but genuinely rather good!

[dcondron-78437 · 7/10 · 13 August 2020]

Obviously low budget but includes decent humour, choreography and good acting from Mandylor and Pare. It does not pretend ( in my opinion) to be more than it is but, what it is, is WELL worth a watch Nice clichés and characters who are likeable Give it a go!

gret concept....not enough to make it good

[michaeltraficante · 3/10 · 10 November 2020]

Love the concept, but if they had more funding for graphics, betterscript writing....story writing...etc i would be a good film, well actually for robotic drones they seem to be WAY to easily taken out....over all not a good film...def in the same level as a syfy film

drones are just terrible...and bruce willis wana be

[michaeltraficante · 3/10 · 10 November 2020]

Badass robotic drones cant even open a wooden door, cant even aim, aparently rope stops them....then you got the dude whose trying to act like bruse willis.....then takes ten minutes to make a multiple mile shot...with a pistol

A convoluted mess.

[aaronierowned · 1/10 · 9 April 2019]

Honestly, in terms of looks, it's actually pretty decent. But too many loopholes and inconsistencies ruin the entire thing.

On one hand, we have drones who are shown to be all but impervious when Sniper girl apparently can't penetrate their armour as well as the rest of the crew being unable to take down a drone at close range with gunfire from nearly all members including a shotgun. Then on the other hand, the White Ninja of Weeaboo West stabs one with a knife and it just dies...? Wasn't aware that knives were more effective vs guns especially when aiming at the same spots.

Shotgun boy also witnesses the drones going down with a concise shot through the head in some instances. So what does he do? He continues to make sure that shooting the most heavily armoured part of their bodies, the chest, repeatedly whilst also apparently being impervious to bullets, himself.

But what really got me and what caused me to all but lose hope for this film was Sniper girl and Psycho boy locking themselves up in an airtight pressure sealed chamber, commenting on how they have a severe lack of oxygen and that they must work to conserve it and then immediately just lighting a flare up... Not sure if maybe someone was uninformed on how fire actually works.But spoiler alert: It needs oxygen. A lot of it.

Overall. Don't waste your money.

Don't bother

[davet-65083 · 1/10 · 12 August 2018]

Characters lack credibilty, acting is really bad and it's just 90 mins of cheesy lines.

This is ... war

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 3 October 2021]

You have to like the slow motion speed up effect ... if you do, the movie will be like having multiple ... highlights throughout (you can switch highlights with a different word if you like). The actors obviously have fun running with the quite ridiculous plot ... and I think it translates well onto the screen.

Good special effects, no real surprises story wise and a lot of action and stunts. This is for B-movie fans of days gone/past ... characters could have used a few tweaks, but still got mad love for low budget movies with a heart like this ...

Expendables A-team meets bad robocop battle suits

[3_the_monkey · 5/10 · 10 July 2018]

I enjoyed it, a tad too much slow-mo for my liking but the actors all did a good job and the cgi was decent. I liked the banter and comradery, did it have faults yes, was it as good as expendables or the a team, no but both were huge budget movies with our times best actors and action heroes. It's better than a B movie, feels good and made with heart, as such I grade it comparing it to Expendables and the A-Team, therefore 5/10 when I give Expendables and the A-Team 8/10.

Not the worst movie. And not the best.

[InterArmaEnimSilentLeges · 6/10 · 6 February 2019]

This is certainly not the worst movie in the world. But it's also nowhere near being the best. It's a fairly standard affair.

You've got the standard cliché characters: The fearless leader, the russian muscle guy, the bad-ass chick, the complete psycho, the airhead girl, the martial arts dude, etc, etc. And then you have the standard bad guys: The heartless weapons dealer, the corrupt general, the shifty CIA-man.

You've got the standard plot: The team gets double crossed and have to fighter killer robots and seek revenge on the gad guys.

The good: Pretty good CGI. Casting was pretty good, and I had no issue with the acting. It's not Oscar material, mind you, but again it's standard fair for an action movie.

The bad: While some fight scenes are good, they over-use slow motion WAY to much. It gets old quick. And I also could not suspend my disbelief over how much ammunition the robots seemed to have. Like thousands of rounds per robot, and yet the gun they're carrying is smaller than a P90. Maybe that's nitpicking, but it bothered me.

All in all, a standard B-level action movie. Competently executed, but with flaws.

So... if you really like killer robot movies, I'd say it's ... fine. But if you want to see a B-movie with killer robots done even better, you might want to look up "Kill Command".

B movie

[injun-83620 · 5/10 · 25 January 2019]

Decent for a B movie. When you start watching it you want to stay till the end.

Surprisingly fun!

[edivhjortalus · 8/10 · 14 June 2018]

While the film is nothing mindblowing, it does have a lot of very cool action sequences. The choreography isn't half bad, and the music is decent-to-good. There is a large emphasis on slow-mo, and the "unstoppable mercenary team" shtick isn't new to anybody who has seen The Expendables.

Still, it's a surprisingly fun movie with a good ending.

Not as much of a B-Movie as you'd expect!

[GavWaskett · 7/10 · 13 September 2020]

Awful and would just be noise in the background. I ended up stopping doing work and enjoying the film.

A group of mercenaries are hired by the CIA on a mission by mission basis and their next job is in Chernobyl, unfortunately for the 6 mercenaries and their CIA handler, the once deserted wasteland is home to a whole bunch of killer robots, out to add them to the ghosts of Chernobyl.

You have all types of mercenaries here that you will ever need, the disgraced Captain who should never have been disgraced, the hard as nails women sniper, the psychopathic one, the silent ninja one, the guns specialist and the big Russian indestructible one.

However, you also have a pretty decent cast, Louis Mandylor, bulking up from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Natassia Malthe is very good as the sniper, Dominique Swain in the first action role I have seen her in and I'm now trying to find other films on her reel, as she impressed and Oleg Taktarov as the Russian in all films needing a big Russian (Predators, National Treasure, Rollerball and Miami Vice). He's bliming good as a big Russian, though a bit typecast!

Expect friendly banter between mercs, choreographed fight scenes, the ninja one doing ninja things, the psycho one being psychopathic, the women proving they can kick but as well, the gun one using guns, the Captain brooding over his lot in life and looking out for his team and the big Russian one being big and Russian.

The film also goes against what I thought was going to happen, I thought it would be a by the numbers, everyone gets taken out one by one, but in many ways, I was so wrong. The cast obviously enjoyed making it and for 90 minutes of action, it's worth a go. A 13/20 from me though I reckon many of you will disagree with me.

Fairly mundane

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 16 February 2019]

BATTLE DRONE is a fairly mundane kind of sci-fi action flick, shot on the cheap in Romania with a few B-movie faces popping up to propel the story along. The story has a bunch of mercenaries teaming up to battle some evil androids that look exactly like the suit in the remake of ROBOCOP, so originality isn't particularly important here. Sadly, this is let down by slapdash writing with scant regard to characterisation, and poor direction which utilises extreme slow motion in some of the fight sequences which looks absolutely ridiculous, alongside cheap and fuzzy CGI elsewhere. Louis Mandylor, Michael Pare and Dominique Swain all work hard to bring some life to this, but the odds are tipped against them.

D class movies

[iamdcontingency · 4/10 · 5 April 2020]

Useless cliche-ridden action sci-fi film with silly slow motion and senseless gunfights.