Name: Wire Room
Genre: Action, Crime
Released: 2022-09-02T00:00:00+00:00
Cast: Kevin Dillon, Bruce Willis, Oliver Trevena, Texas Battle, Cameron Douglas

The opening shot of Wire Room is a tight close-up of Justin Rosa’s ear, glued to a headset as distant gunfire crackles through the speakers. It’s an arresting image that promises tension and immediacy—but one that the film itself repeatedly fails to deliver.

Director Matt Eskandari’s action thriller, starring Kevin Dillon and Bruce Willis in one of his final roles, is a messy, disjointed affair that squanders its intriguing premise. The story follows Rosa (Dillon), a new recruit monitoring arms smuggler Eddie Flynn (Oliver Trevena) from the titular Wire Room, a remote surveillance hub. When a SWAT team raids Flynn’s home, Rosa breaks protocol to save his life, setting off a chain of events that culminates in a desperate stand against corrupt forces.

What works in Wire Room is its central conceit: the idea of a protagonist trapped in a room, trying to influence events from afar. The film’s best moments come when it plays with this dynamic, like when Rosa frantically instructs Flynn over the phone while gunmen storm his house. Dillon delivers a committed performance, conveying Rosa’s mounting panic and determination through vocal inflections and subtle physical ticks.

However, these moments are too few and far between. The film’s pacing is glacial, with long stretches of expository dialogue and repetitive surveillance footage. Eskandari’s direction is often static, relying on the same camera setups and angles to the point of tedium. Even the action sequences, meant to be the film’s highlight, feel sluggish and uninspired.

Bruce Willis, in his final role before retiring due to his dementia diagnosis, has little to do but scowl and bark orders. His presence adds a modicum of gravitas, but his character, Shane Mueller, is underwritten and one-note. The supporting cast fares little better, with Oliver Trevena’s Eddie Flynn being the sole exception—a charismatic, unpredictable presence who elevates every scene he’s in.

The film’s production values are surprisingly low for a Lionsgate release, with obvious green screens, stilted CGI, and unconvincing set designs. The sound design is equally lacking, with muddy audio mixing that makes dialogue difficult to discern at times. The cinematography, while technically competent, lacks any distinctive visual flair or creativity, further contributing to the film’s bland aesthetic.

Wire Room‘s narrative structure is another area of concern. The film takes its time setting up the premise, but once the action finally kicks in, it feels rushed and incoherent. The transitions between scenes are often abrupt, and the logic of certain plot developments is questionable at best. For instance, the sudden appearance of corrupt agents seeking to destroy evidence feels tacked on, a lazy attempt to inject some stakes into an otherwise flat story.

The film’s themes are equally underdeveloped. On paper, Wire Room explores interesting ideas about surveillance, power, and corruption—but these themes are never fully fleshed out or explored in any meaningful way. The characters’ motivations are often unclear, and their actions feel driven more by narrative convenience than psychological realism.

Where Wire Room truly stumbles is in its failure to deliver on the promise of its premise. Films like The Raid, John Wick, and even Safe House prove that a confined space can be a breeding ground for intense, creative action sequences. But Wire Room never comes close to matching the visceral thrills of these films. Instead, it settles for a series of tired shootouts and chases that feel like they were lifted straight from a straight-to-video action flick.

That’s not to say Wire Room is entirely without merit. Its central premise is engaging, and Kevin Dillon’s performance anchors the film in moments of genuine tension. The film also boasts a surprisingly effective score, with a pulsing electronic soundtrack that heightens the sense of urgency during the film’s few action set pieces.

But these bright spots are not enough to salvage Wire Room from its many shortcomings. The film is a missed opportunity, a chance to explore a unique and compelling premise squandered by weak direction, uninspired action, and underdeveloped themes. It’s a film that feels like it was made on autopilot, a product designed to check off boxes rather than an exciting presentation of escapism.

Wire Room is a film for hardcore action fans who are willing to overlook its many flaws in search of a few moments of entertainment.