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WIRE ROOM

1 Star (out of 4)

Director: Matt Eskandari

Cast: Kevin Dillon, Oliver Trevena, Bruce Willis, Texas Battle, Shelby Cobb

MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence and pervasive language)

Running Time: 1:37

Release Date: 9/2/22 (limited; digital & on-demand)


Wire Room, Lionsgate

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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 1, 2022

Just think of all the instances of bad luck, coincidences, and contrivances that have to occur simultaneously or within minutes of each other for the plot of Wire Room to even happen. The premise here, in which a federal agent has to help a big-time drug dealer stay alive during a siege by rivals (for reasons that even the screenplay itself dismisses eventually), has some superficial promise, but it definitely doesn't justify how ridiculous the build-up to and payoff of it are.

Most of the story takes place in two locations: a wire room (where law enforcement agents listen to the communications of people they're investigating—a definition the movie provides twice, just in case one misses it) run by a Homeland Security operation and the mansion of the aforementioned drug dealer, filled with government surveillance equipment. Kevin Dillon plays Justin Rosa, the new guy to the team, whose one job is to sit in front of a computer monitor for a work shift (Some might be feeling a sense of déjà vu with that description) and who somehow finds multiple ways to even screw up that simple a task.

After a couple rundowns—provided separately by Bruce Willis' Shane, an agent who wants this case to be his big swan song before retirement, and Shelby Cobb's Nour, the tech whiz—of basic background and exposition, Justin finds himself distracted by a talkative security guard, leaving the room (going against one of the few rules—and probably the most obvious one—of his job) to use the bathroom, and then ignoring the monitors upon returning to the room. After he finally realizes that drug lord Eddie (Oliver Trevena) is being raided by armed and armored attackers, he calls Shane but fails to lead with, you know, the fact that the key to their investigation is in imminent danger of being killed.

The remainder of Brandon Stiefer's screenplay at least doesn't offer as much forehead-slapping moments of inconsistency and incompetence as the setup does. That's not saying much, of course, and as Justin tries to talk Eddie through the siege, he also has to prepare to defend himself from an attack by crooked cops who don't want Eddie to tell the feds what he knows about them.

The good news for the consistently bungling Justin is that his soon-to-be attackers take the stairs, giving Shane the time to get drunk, drive back to the office, and take the elevator before they even get to the wire room. Since Wire Room opens with a flash-forward to the whole of climactic shootout played in slow-motion, it's not as if there's much suspense leading up to it, anyway. Our incompetent protagonist is in good company behind the camera, too.

Copyright © 2022 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved.

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