Worldfest 2017 Review: ‘Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter’

While at the 50th Annual WorldFest-Houston film festival this weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Worldfest premiere of the very entertaining sci-fi film: Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter.

“Set in the distant future, this film depicts the overthrow of human intelligence on Earth and other worlds, with a determined rebel who goes up against the Droid Empire. Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter embraces an ongoing theme of its director: artificial intelligence will be the downfall of humanity– humans will never learn that lesson.”

On the surface, Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter looks like a pretty standard science fiction film, but despite a few common tropes, there’s a lot that makes the film stand out.

The story focuses on Sienna (Tracey Birdsall), a complex badass who is out in the wasteland fighting the robots every day. Through her travels, she finds out about an ancient weapon from a past war that is capable of defeating huge segments of the robots in one attack. The only problem is that the weapon is on a distant planet, and she has no way to get off-world. She initially tries to negotiate her way to the weapon, but when that fails, she takes things into her own hands.

After stealing a ship with the aid of her companions Blister (Tim McGrath) and Hoagland (voiced by Tony Gibbons), they break her former lover, a homicidal maniac named Skullcrusher (Daz Crawford), out of space prison before setting out to find the weapon. As they get closer to their goal, Sienna begins to learn more about who she is, who she was, and who she wants to be.

There is a lot to love about this movie. First, the script is excellent. There is a lot of well-crafted dialogue, including tons of humor throughout the movie. I laughed out loud several times, but especially at the delivery given by Sienna and Hoagland. Next, the movie has an incredible star in Tracey Birdsall. She does all of her own stunts with a smile, and keeps kicking ass despite all the cuts and bruises (and they’re real… she showed me when I interviewed her)! Sienna is a complex character with a unique and twisted backstory. It’s probably unlike anything you’ve come across in science fiction before, and I believe it makes her stand out as a heroine. I loved her journey.

I also loved the cinematography. Director Neil Johnson told me that this is the first movie he’s really gotten to shoot exactly the way he wanted to, and I hope he gets to keep doing so because the man has an eye for incredible shots. He also has an uncommon vision for the robots and spaceships, using both models and CGI to get the effects to look just right in the film. The music, provided by Alex Staropoli, succeeds in making this feel like a classic sci-fi epic, while also bringing new elements into it.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter. It’s a modern sci-fi epic, with an incredible heroine at the lead, and a team of likable and fun sidekicks at her back. There’s a possibility of a television show set in the same universe spawning out of the movie, and I would love to see that happen! This is a movie with great storytelling, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi!

Also, you can check out my interview with Tracey Birdsall about her role as Sienna here!