Resistance Is Futile: Scifi actioner Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter Hits Prime Video from Cockerel Entertainment |

Sometimes a film stays with you for reasons that have very little to do with whether the film is technically perfect or not. Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is one of those films for me.

I originally reviewed Neil Johnson’s science fiction adventure a few years ago and looking back at that review now, it’s interesting to see how much of what I enjoyed about the film then has stayed with me and still applies now .The premise for Rogue Warrior:Robot Fighter is wonderfully straightforward (thank you Neil) in the future, artificial intelligence has risen against humanity and the world has become a battleground between humans and machines. Into this hostile environment comes Sienna, (played by Tracey Birdsall), who finds herself fighting to survive against both the robots and the unforgiving landscape around her. And yes, there are plenty of familiar ingredients here that will be more than familiar to scifi nuts (me included)

You can see influences from Mad Max, Resident Evil and other post-apocalyptic and science-fiction adventures. But rather than seeing those influences (or homages) as a negative, I think they form part of the film’s charm and appeal. This is the sort of movie that wears its love of genre scifi cinema on its sleeve there’s no attempt to hide it from the team that made this film. The biggest surprise for me remains how good the film looks. Neil Johnson gets an enormous amount out of his locations and visual effects, creating a futuristic world that feels considerably more expensive than I’m sure it actually is. The sun baked landscapes in particular give the film an almost hostile personality of their own, and if you look into the making of this film, you’ll see that there were no acting skills needed in regards to the ‘oh my god how hot it this actual landscape’ side of things. I love doing what I do in that I watch a finished film and write about it (or talk about it) I certainly don’t envy the filmmakers who are out in that insane heat crafting characters and scenes in an actual desert!

Then there’s Tracey Birdsall’s Sienna. She’s a great character to put at the centre of this kind of movie and a great actress to portray Sienna. There is a toughness to her without losing the human element, and Tracey makes her easy to root for. Watching Sienna fight her way through this world is a big part of what makes the film work. But perhaps the biggest compliment I can give Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is that it made me feel nostalgic. It took me back to the science fiction films I loved growing up films like Krull, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone and Battle Beyond the Stars. Those films weren’t always polished Hollywood masterpieces and that’s part of my love for them but they had something incredibly important: they were fun. It may not have the budget of a Star Wars production, but it doesn’t need one. What it has is imagination, enthusiasm, strong visuals and a lead character worth following.

And Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is fun. It’s an ambitious independent science fiction film with plenty of action, some impressive visuals and a universe that feels as though there are plenty more stories waiting to be told. If you’re a fan of independent science fiction, post apocalyptic adventures or films that punch above their weight visually, Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is certainly worth checking out. I still have a soft spot for Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter. And if you’ve never seen it, its arrival on Prime Video in the UK gives you a pretty good opportunity to discover it for yourself.