Author Matthew Reilly has penned multiple books over the years that would translate well into rather flashy late 1990s/early 2000s style big-budget Hollywood action blockbusters.
He recently made his debut as a director with “Interceptor,” an action film in which US Army Captain JJ Collins (Elsa Pataky) is the last woman standing on a remote missile defense base. She wages a one-woman war against domestic terrorists in cahoots with Russians intent on seizing control and launching nukes.
The film has surprised quite a few people by climbing to No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 list in multiple countries with about 50 million hours viewed. Speaking with Variety recently, Reilly admits he is genuinely surprised at how well it has done:
“I was hoping to sneak into the top 10 on Netflix, but coming in at number one everywhere? I don’t think anybody was expecting it to take the world by storm. I’m just as confused as everybody else.”
Reilly co-wrote the screenplay with Stuart Beattie. The film retains the pacing and somewhat gonzo nuttiness of his books but is quite different in scale – it’s a much more contained piece as Reilly strictly keeps the budget down to a cost-effective $15 million by having the action mostly take place on one set. He explains:
“I’ve been writing bonkers fast-paced action novels for 25 years. It’s very well known that I’ve sold them all to studios in Hollywood but they’re too big. They’re $120 million to $150 million movies. I’ve always wanted to direct, so Interceptor was designed to be filmed on the cheap in a single location. But what I would do is give it that energy, that enthusiasm, that bonkers gonzo pace.”
The film has received very mixed reviews from critics along with scoring a lot of backlash on social media which Reilly is very aware of:
“If you don’t like my movie, say you don’t like my movie. I don’t mind that. But somewhere in recent years, we got to this extreme bottom end and people who say, ‘I don’t like your movie, therefore, I hate you, therefore, you should die a painful miserable death and never make movies again.'”
Pataky’s husband Chris Hemsworth produces and makes a cameo in the film which also stars Luke Bracey, Aaron Glenane, Rhys Muldoon, Colin Friels and Zoe Carides.
