ALARUM

(director: Michael Polish; screenwriter: Alexander Vesha; cinematographer: Jayson Crothers; editor: Paul Buhl; music: Yagmur Kaplan; cast: Sylvester Stallone (Chester), Scott Eastwood (Joe Travers/ Archibald), Mike Colter (Orlin), Willa Fitzgerald (Lara Travers), Joel Cohen (Roland Rousseau), Isis Valverde (Bridgette Rousseau), D.W. Moffett (Ronald Burbridge), Mark Polish (C.I.A agent Kirby), Abigail Spear (Poppy), Anton Narinskiy (Krol), La Monde Byrd (Splinter); Runtime: 95; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Joel Cohen, Randall Emmett, Gwen Osborne; Lionsgate; 2025)

“A forgettable B-film spy story.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A forgettable B-film spy story. It’s directed in a rote way by Michael Polish (“Twin Falls Idaho”/”Terror on the Prairie”) and flatly written by Alexander Vesha.

The film is set at a romantic winter resort in wintry Poland, where the married spies Joe (Scott Eastwood) and Lara Travers (Willa Fitzgerald) are on holiday. They are part of a secret organization not approved by the U.S. government, whose members are rogue spies hoping to improve the state of espionage around the globe. They team up with a rogue colleague, a CIA fixer, Chester (Sylvester Stallone), in their fight against the foreign operative Orlin (Mike Colter) who is seeking a stolen hard drive with intelligence secrets.

The lackluster action pic is unappealing; that is, unless you’re a Stallone fan or crave action pics with big guns or films whose motives are never made clear.

REVIEWED ON 2/5/2025  GRADE: C
dennisschwartzreviews.com