Blue World Order is a post-apocalyptic science-fiction action movie with a fast-paced and well-edited opening sequence. There is a brief scene with a scientist conducting an experiment, then a cool little intro that quickly and effectively explains the state of the film’s world, followed by a quiet sequence involving a guy in a gasmask struggling with some bees. Unfortunately, the movie is all downhill from there. On October 19, 2022 there was some kind of nuclear attack on bio-power plants around the world. The radiation spawned bacteria that infected and killed most of the world. Two years later, Jake (Jake Ryan), who is somehow uninfected, is searching for help for his comatose eight-year old daughter, Molly (Billie Rutherford). He eventually teams up with the occasionally bumbling Madcap (Stephen Hunter, who played dwarf Bombur in The Hobbit films) and together they try to shut down the virus that is plaguing what is left of humanity.
Jake is pretty much a blank slate of a character. He loves his daughter, trusts no one and is really good at martial arts (there is an awkward flashback early in the film that shows him being taught martial arts by Billy Zane’s Master Crane). He is also completely ignorant of everything going on in the outside world. That is pretty convenient for the movie because it gives an excuse for every other character to explain the plot to the audience. He just keeps wandering into situations he does not understand until somebody stops to enlighten him. It gets pretty irritating after about the third time. And it happens throughout the entire movie.
Every ten minutes or so there is an action sequence that could theoretically liven things up. But they lack all suspense because Billy Zane apparently taught Jake how to be a master ninja. He just Batmans his way from scene to scene and effortlessly defeats every bad guy with a complete lack of drama. The entire point of an action scene in a film like this is to put an obstacle in the hero’s path. These fights are less obstacles and more momentary annoyances. They are just a way for Jake to get some exercise in between dialogue scenes.
There is a lot going on in Blue World Order, plot-wise. The setup is deliberately vague which allows for constant twists and surprises pretty much all the way until the final shot. But the characters are dull and the world itself is never fully developed, so I never cared. Plus, every twist needs to be thoroughly explained to Jake since he has no idea what is going on. That makes the film feel about an hour longer than it actually is.
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-Ben Pivoz