Red Faction: Origins bridges the gap between THQ’s videogames Red Faction: Guerilla and Red Faction: Armageeddon. It centers on Red Faction soldier Jake Mason (Brian J. Smith), son of war hero Alec Mason (Robert Patrick) who helped give the Martian Colonies their independence from the EDF (Earth Defense Force), and his discovery that his kidnapped sister, who has been missing for 12 years, is still alive and has become a member of a group known only as the “white soldiers.” The same group that killed his mother and kidnapped his sister in the first place. In order to save her he’ll need the help of his drunken and disgraced father and the support of the Marauders, Red Faction’s sworn enemies.
Having not played either of the Red Faction videogames I can’t comment on how well Origins fits in the story arc but I can say that the film’s plot feels a bit generic but considering its videogame roots its nowhere as hollow as it could be. Andrew Kreisberg’s (“Warehouse 13”) script is actually coherent, fairly intelligent and features a nice amount of character development. The cast is uniformly good with only a few flat moments. The special effects aren’t exactly cutting edge. The flying sequences are particularly troublesome but that’s to be expected from a made-for-Syfy film.
Bonus features include a very fluffy making-of featurette and an commentary with some of the actors, director Michael Nankin and Universal Cable’s director of development Tom Lieber that discusses changes from the original script, differences from the game and some of the off-screen antics.
It’s rare that I’d recommend a film that is based on a videogame but sci-fi fans will want to give Red Faction: Origins a look.