Alarum Review: A Spy Thriller That Misses Its Mark

The action movie Alarum combines explosive scenes with spy elements, following Joe (Scott Eastwood) and Lara (Willa Fitzgerald), two former agents seeking to abandon their secret lives. Their peaceful snow-covered honeymoon location turns into a war zone after accusations link them to Alarum, a splinter spy group, making them targets for both hired guns and old colleagues.

The story’s base elements show promise—married agents dealing with treachery while fighting to stay alive—yet fails to meet expectations, as the organization Alarum stays too abstract rather than emerging as a real threat. The constant shooting and explosions lack connection to meaningful plot elements or compelling character development.

The movie tries to mix the polished excitement of Mr. & Mrs. Smith with the raw style of Bourne, yet becomes standard action movie material. The actors, including Stallone playing a tired killer and Fitzgerald as a skilled fighter, could excel, but receive limited support from basic character writing and awkward lines.

The movie falls back on expected plot devices—the hidden spy group, continuous shootouts, and predictable double-crosses. Brief mentions of trust and self-discovery get lost among constant, confusing fight scenes.

The Plot: A Convoluted Chase for Survival

The movie Alarum starts with a basic spy story setup: Joe (Scott Eastwood) and Lara (Willa Fitzgerald) are ex-spies trying to spend their honeymoon in the Polish countryside.

Their peace ends after a plane crashes nearby, and Joe finds a flash drive that attracts dangerous attention from hired guns and old CIA workmates. The story moves through snowy woods and tight resort spaces, keeping Joe and Lara apart most of the time as they fight off groups of armed enemies.

The flash drive holds something secret, though the movie never explains what. It links to Alarum, a hidden group of ex-spies who want to “destroy the control of worldwide spy agencies.” This idea could make an interesting story, but the movie treats it like a scary story told around a campfire. The supposed worldwide danger feels empty and unreal.

The movie focuses on lies and staying alive, but shows both in basic ways. Spy work naturally includes changing sides and unclear right-wrong choices, making good material for stories about trust. The movie adds so many unexplained betrayals that they stop meaning anything. The people in the story act like chess pieces moved by unknown hands.

The name Alarum points to something funny – a secret spy group fighting against spying. During times of big data gathering and government watching, this could say something about current world politics. The movie just uses the group as a story tool, making their goals too unclear to matter.

The mixed-up story copies other spy movies without their skill. Strange turns happen without building tension, like the movie expects viewers to be lost. The characters and their problems become hard to care about.

Characters and Performances: Heroes, Villains, and Wasted Talent

Scott Eastwood acts as Joe at a basic level. He moves well—running through snow-filled woods smoothly and fighting like someone who trains regularly. His acting lacks spark and range, missing from the start of filming. Joe acts smug (similar to Ryan Reynolds but missing the humor and understanding), making viewers care less about his troubles.

Most spy movies need strong main characters, and Joe falls short of carrying the story’s feelings. Next to Matt Damon’s troubled Bourne or James Bond’s smooth deadliness, Eastwood’s Joe seems empty. He runs, shoots, and grins, doing nothing else.

Willa Fitzgerald plays Lara, called the “best killer alive,” yet the movie shows little proof. Fitzgerald moves well in action scenes, killing enemies skillfully (she stays alive during a drone attack by hiding under dead bodies—one good scene). The movie gives her too little time on screen, and her lines skip any deep personality traits expected from someone with her skills.

The movie skips showing both sides of Lara—deadly fighter and loving wife. She only appears in action scenes, missing a chance to show who she really is.

Sylvester Stallone plays Chester, an old killer forced to hunt his friend. Stallone adds weight with his rough voice and tired looks that show years of experience. Chester appears too briefly, making his role feel small and simple.

Stallone seems added just to sell tickets—he shows up, looks serious, and shoots big guns.

Mike Colter plays Orlin, a crazy bad guy who could steal scenes with better writing. Colter acts mean well, but his role lacks substance. Orlin’s reasons and past stay unclear, and though Colter tries hard, his bad guy seems basic—just there to move the story along.

The other actors, like D.W. Moffett and Mark Polish playing CIA agents, get similar treatment. They just explain things and look worried in dark rooms. These flat characters make the whole group less interesting.

Action and Execution: Thrills Without the Punch

Alarum stuffs many action scenes together, using noise to hide its weak story. The movie shows lots of shooting, drones, fights, and ends with random explosions. Some parts stand out: Willa Fitzgerald’s Lara builds a dead body shelter to escape a drone—silly yet smart (bringing fun ideas to spy movies).

Sylvester Stallone’s Chester shoots bad guys with a huge gun that looks like it’s from a game. These scenes try to amaze viewers, but most lack planning, replacing real excitement with noise.

The movie shines during its silliest parts. Fitzgerald moves fast and smart during fights, making her scenes pop compared to other parts. Stallone brings his big movie star style. His scenes add short bursts of fun to the fighting, though his role lacks depth. These small good parts hint at a better movie that could have been made.

The action scenes mix slow and fast parts badly and copy other movies. Too many gunshots and blasts make viewers bored quickly. Looking at the tight, raw fights in Bourne movies or the big stunts in Mission: Impossible makes this movie’s action look weak, like it’s just following a recipe.

The fight scenes look cheap. Empty woods and plain rooms make boring backgrounds, and the fake-looking computer effects (especially the gunfire and blasts) break the movie’s spell. Good action movies use fights to build excitement or tell us about the characters. This movie uses fights just to fill time and cover story problems.

Direction and Screenplay: A Vision Lost in Translation

Michael Polish directs Alarum differently from his past movies. His old films (Northfork and The Astronaut Farmer) showed clear style and deep ideas—they studied people through strange, beautiful shots.

This time he makes basic movie choices. The movie looks plain, jumps between different moods, and creates no bond with its characters or ideas.

The fight scenes range from okay to rough, showing flat camera angles and similar shots (the forest fights become boring fast). Small touches like Joe and Lara’s relationship seem rushed and basic. The movie plays like someone finishing a work task.

Alexander Vesha’s script makes things worse. The story moves like a broken puzzle—mixed up and hard to follow, yet boring to solve. People switch sides without reason, teams change randomly, and the Alarum group stays too mysterious, used only to push the story forward.

The movie uses old spy movie parts (the loose agent, the hard task, the hidden data) but adds nothing fresh. Easy-to-guess turns kill the mystery, and the sneaky parts feel fake. The script could have used Alarum to talk about trust problems in spy agencies, but makes it just another story device.

Production Design: From Winter Resorts to CGI Chaos

The Ohio locations pretending to be Poland look fake and empty in winter. The woods and small town work as basic places for fighting, but miss real Polish touches that could make the story feel real. The movie shows random woods that look cheap rather than planned.

The camera work makes things worse. The snow could look stark or empty in a good way, but everything looks dull. Far-away shots miss size, close shots miss feeling, and fight scenes look dim. A movie about spies, lies, and staying alive should show more mood.

The computer effects look bad. The blasts resemble old video games, and fake blood during gunfights makes everything look less real. These effects and badly filmed action scenes make big moments fall flat.

The movie sets look empty, like places missing stuff or built too fast. The fancy hotel should look rich or mysterious, but stays as dead as its story. Nothing in the movie feels solid or real.

Final Thoughts: A Forgettable Flick with Glimpses of Promise

Alarum shows small hints of good film making. Willa Fitzgerald moves and acts strongly, bringing life to her basic role, and Sylvester Stallone’s tough-guy acting adds short bits of weight to the empty story. Some action parts—like the strange “dead body shelter” scene—show ideas that could have made the movie better.

These good moments get lost in average film making. The story mixes old spy movie tricks badly, with boring surprises instead of exciting ones.

The people in it seem like chess pieces, and the movie doesn’t care what happens to them. Mix in plain-looking sets, dull camera work, and cheap-looking computer effects, and the movie plays like a quick, low-cost streaming service film.

The movie wastes its chance—taking an okay idea and making bad choices. People who like the actors (or don’t mind basic action movies) might enjoy parts of it.