A One Mann’s Movies review of “Rogue Trooper”. (From the 2026 London Film Festival). (2026, 3.5*, NR).
Rogue Trooper is an animated Sci-Fi spectacular from Duncan Jones, the writer/director whose biggest hits have been Moon (2009) and Source Code (2011). It has Avatar vibes in terms of the visuals, but used a hybrid animation/mo-cap approach to achieve the stylised approach that Jones was looking for. It is visually distinctive and impressive.
The film is based on a comic strip called 2000 AD. When I claimed to know nothing of this in an Instagram post I was berated for having had my head under a rock! But, I really don’t know it. When I further commented that this was an ‘action/comedy’ I was also met with shock reactions from 2000 AD fans (of which there seem to be many): “Rogue Trooper is NOT a comedy” one commented. So, I’m not quite sure how this film will be received.
One thing for sure: Bear McCreary has come up with one of the most whistle-able ear-worm war themes in recent memory!
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Biochipped genetic soldiers, whose personalities can be downloaded should they fall on the battlefield, fight a futile, violent war across a chemically toxic landscape. Time is of the essence for their mission, but a raft of horrors await them.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This film has not yet received a classification by the BBFC, but I would expect it to be a 15 based on strong violence, gore and bad language. This is not a kids film. )
Talent:
Starring: Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, Hayley Atwell, Sean Bean, Peter Serafinowicz, Matt Berry, Asa Butterfield, Jemaine Clement, Diane Morgan, Daryl McCormack, Reece Shearsmith, Tanya Moodie, Adrian Edmondson, Henning Wehn.
Directed by: Duncan Jones.
Written by: Gerry Finley-Day, Dave Gibbons, Duncan Jones.
Running Time: 2h 5m.
Review:
Positives:
- First up, Bear McCreary’s “Rogue Trooper March” that accompanies the opening and closing titles is quite fantastic. Catchy, bombastic… and that’s before the bagpipes come in! I was whistling it all the way to my train station afterwards.
- The world created here feels very generic Sci-Fi, but I assume the comic strip is like that. Two factions – the evil Norts and the good Southerns (because God is always on one side, right?) – engage in constant battles in a never-ending war. But on the toxic planet of Nu-Earth they are fighting on, the Southerns have an advantage… whereas normal troops need to wear cumbersome outfits and respirators, they have developed pod-born “Genetic Infantry” – blue skinned (very Avatar) soldiers who can breathe the air and fight in muscle-rippling short sleeves. They also have the ability, if killed, to download their ‘being’ via the chip buried deep in their heads… but only if done within 20 seconds! This leads to some comical character names, that only dawned on me as the film progressed: Helm (Daryl McCormack); Bagman (Reece Shearsmith) and Gunnar (Jack Lowden).
- Some of the comedy here is very funny. The action is divided between the ground troops on the planet and the ‘generals’ safely orbiting the planet in ‘Mil-sat’. It only took Colonel Logan to open her mouth for Philomena Cunk to come out that I realised it was the wonderful Diane Morgan and beamed from ear-to-ear. We also have Sean Bean as Colonel Dicey, fighting over the ownership of a Test Match cricket ball.
- I would love to interview Duncan Jones about this film, since there are a number of characters in here that seem very familiar from previous films and TV shows. The Sergeant Major, barking out orders to the Genetic Infantry, is SURELY based on the late Windsor Davis’s equivalent character in the controversial 1970’s David Croft and Jimmy Perry TV comedy series It Ain’t Half Hot Mum! And for the comedy duo of Mr Brass (Jemaine Clement) and Mr Bland (Matt Berry) – junk merchants, roaming the planet like Jawas – I was getting really strong vibes of Mr Wint and Mr Kidd from the Bond film Diamonds are Forever. The sniper Vichy is played with an outrageous French accent by Peter Serafinowicz, giving strong John Cleese vibes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And I loved it when Aneurin Barnard’s Rogue Trooper went the full Arnie with an “I’ll Be Back”.
- Hayley Atwell has great fun as the sexy Jessica Rabbit action-hero equivalent in the film: the brilliantly named Venus Bluegenes.
Negatives:
- The ‘download on death’ stuff is all very contrived. Firstly, why wouldn’t you have the SD-card easily accessible via a flap like a camera? (But then you wouldn’t have the head-splattery gore-fest!) Secondly – tip to the brain designers – install a bigger backup battery so you had a good half-hour of restoration time!
- As with any comedy, while much of it was good and funny, other jokes just didn’t work for me.
Summary Thoughts:
I wasn’t expecting much from this and although not normally a great fan of animated features, I did have fun with this one. I’d be interested to hear what fans of the source material think of it… please drop me a comment below (or email me at bob@onemannsmovies.com).
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoUaEWblaWM.
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