Rogue Trooper - Review (London Film Festival 2026)
Updated: 4 hours ago
We'll Meet Again.
Seen at the BFI London Film Festival 2026
Review written by Jack Aling
Rogue Trooper is directed and written by Duncan Jones.
Starring Aneurin Barnard, Jack Lowden, Hayley Atwell & Sean Bean.
Rogue is a "Genetic Infantryman", a genetically-engineered, blue-skinned, manufactured super soldier who, alongside his three comrades, is searching for the Traitor General. His comrades are with him in the form of biochips—onto which a G.I.'s entire personality is downloaded at the time of death for later retrieval—and are named Gunnar (mounted on Rogue's rifle), Bagman (on his backpack) and Helm (on his helmet). Rogue is designed to be immune to almost all known toxins, can submerge in strong acid unaffected, and is able to withstand a vacuum on his bare skin.
I was not familiar with the Rogue Trooper source material, so I was the perfect subject to see how this modern adaptation is received by fresh eyes.
The choice to use Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 to bring the film to life is one I admire, as it shows Duncan Jones' determination to bring this film to the screen by any means necessary. The downside being that the visuals constantly flip between impressive and distracting, particularly in its human characters.
The high-energy and satirical nature of Starship Troopers and distinctly British sentimentality is felt through the script and voice cast. Rogue Trooper is an entertaining militaristic sci-fi story with a rebellious hard edge, even if there's no subtlety in its deadpan delivery.
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