Rogue Elements: A Ryan Drake Story

I was eagerly anticipating this production, being a fan of the Drinker and sharing most of his frustration of modern film making.

I've read a couple of Will Jordan's books and found them to be a bit paint by numbers, with the lead character "Drake" being a bit dull. I found this short film to be very similar. My main criticism is the casting of Ryan Drake, I'm sorry but I just don't see how anyone in their right mind would think casting of Moran as an experienced special forces operator was a good idea. Moran was a terrible casting choice and unfortunately, this completely ruined it for me.

Maybe I was expecting too much?! But I was left disappointed.

This 'proof of concept' short film/pilot is a bit of a mess.

First up, the dialogue is bad, and the pacing is inconsistent. The music choices and editing adds no subtlety or tension as it is too bombastic, calling attention to itself. The acting varies between formulaic and atrocious. There are some interesting shots, peppered amongst the majority of generic ones. The story is not that gripping, and the lead role has been miscast, with an actor whose varying accent is his most interesting characteristic.

This is a film based on books by, and co-written by a YouTuber of some renown, Will Jordan, a.k.a. The Critical Drinker, so I was surprised and disappointed at the cliche level of dialogue and plot, given his reviews of movies, and his series of videos "the Drinker fixes". Although a lot of the responsibility for these things must also lie with the Director/Co-writer/Editor Travis Grant, as those three roles also play a pivotal part of how a film is made. While some of the fight scenes are okay, most of the pacing is slow, and the blocking/staging boring. More tension could have been added by giving characters things to do, putting them in motion as they speak the exposition necessary to set up the world this story takes place. Things like have the character who is supposed to speak Russian/Estonian actually speak Russian or Estonian to the guards, and not badly accented English. But mainly establish the main character earlier, as well as make him the one the audience wants to watch.

This 40 minute film had a budget of over $300,000, and many clever, inventive, independent feature films have been made for this level of money or less like Clerks, Open Water, Once, Pi, She's Gotta Have It, The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, and one of my favourites - El Mariachi, which had action and gun play.

I found this effort disappointing, and a missed opportunity with a budget not well spent.

What stood out most was the overall tone and how cliche it was - I get nothing from this short film that I couldn't experience elsewhere. Slavic antagonists and NATO protagonists, obligatory mindless shootouts and interrogation scene, abandoned compound base, plot armor in the shootouts, etc.

My second biggest gripe would be that I don't know what the hell is really going on, which is a problem severely worsened by the very fast pace. I think the film should have been more accessible to people who aren't familiar with the universe, because I had to spend a substantial amount of time just trying to figure out what was meant to be what.

The world is not portrayed in an immersive or realistic way, which is unengaging. Everything is tailored to serve the plot, rather than to feel like a realistic location that the plot could transpire in. There's a lack of wide shots and slow moments to help you understand the vibes that the characters might be feeling. Instead, it's all just nonestop character-focused action moments or infodumping, without room to breathe.

Smaller details such as the amount of bullets in a magazine, girls having their hair tied back to avoid intrusion, the technical realism of how computers are used, and the amount of injuries sustained in a fight all add up to create a piece of media that just doesn't feel a) realistic and b) technically analyzed by the people who concieved it.

There's also a distinct lack of mystique to the world, and a spy-thriller without mystique is just mindless action in my opinion. Compared to something like John Wick, which builds a lot of mystique both around Wick himself as well as the organisation he worked for, everything in this short film just feels soulless and without deeper intrigue or purpose.

The acting is decidedly unimpressive. Everyone feels almost like they're playing a caricature of the stereotypical roles that they're playing. They all feel superficial, like they have no deeper meaning behind why they act the way they do, and nobody plays off of eachother in a way that appears charismatic or charming at all. I would believe you if you told me every character has their takes filmed in isolation, and were only ever put in the scene together in post. It all just feels very stiff, forced, and unnatural.

There is nothing that particularly stood out about any of the characters in terms of their unique world views or personalities.

Dialogue was flat and boring. It's like that scene in every Christopher Nolan movie where a character tries to explain an overly complicated concept and the majority of the audience just doesn't catch on or care, except in Rogue Elements that scene is 20% of the runtime. I don't care about the specifics of what the characters are trying to do; I care about the characters themselves. What do they value, what do they disagree on, what are their motives. There's just no nuance in this regard, and if they're is then its veiled behind knowledge that isn't conveyed to people who aren't already familiar with the source material.

The only line that stood out to me was when the antagonist replied with "Oh come on, how many 'good men' are dead because of Hastings, because of her?" as it made me actually think about where the morality of each faction was aligned for a moment, as opposed to just mindlessly follow along with "good guys" killing "bad guys". But maybe I only even questioned that because I know nothing about either side and what they're even standing for in the first place.

Lastly, the music is just overbearing, as was the intro sequence. The phrase self-indulgent comes to mind. Use a big crescendo for the climax of an important moment, sure, but I don't need stuff to be blaring 24/7. Let me soak in the atmosphere of the world instead - the sound of gunshots, footsteps and muffled voices, or the silence of a room filled with tension.

My biggest praise for the show would be that the action is visceral and crunchy, despite the fact that all fights are unrealistically one-sided, and the choreography was pretty good too.

I thought the visuals and set designs were nice, and although I thought the colour palette was very bland and uninspired, at least each scene had it's own vibe going on.

For Drinker - I really think you'd earn a huge amount of respect for making a video highlighting what exactly happened in this project, whether it's going to affect your perspective on anything moving forward, and what you've learned fron it. As it stands I think you've lost some sort of credibility as a critic if you're behind the production of something with such glaring amateur mistakes.

I'm a big fan of the Drinker as a critic. I could never really get into his writing as much, and this concept piece illustrates why for me.

Don't misunderstand to title, there's some fun to be had with some of the scenes, but the writing did not lend itself well to the direction it received, which resulted in a disconnect with any emotional investment the audience could have.

For all his talk, Will is not quite able to edit his dialogue down to something tight and concise. It's clear that he knows the story he wants to tell, simple and clear. Simple, indeed it is, but the word count that ended up on the paper did not reflect that.

I'm actually a fan of Drinker and wanted to support his movie. I'll be fair in my critique, but I have to say upfront that I think this film was poor and reflects what happens when amateurs bite off more than they can chew on their first production.

Conceptually, the movie misunderstood its audience. It seems tailored as a "web movie spinoff" for fans of the Ryan Drake series, yet being released on Drinker's channel meant its core audience wasn't actually fans of the book series, but rather fans of his critiques on modern Hollywood. While the narrative choices might work for established fans of Ryan Drake, they jar with the broader demographic of Drinker's channel and those who crowdfunded the project. The wiser move would have been making the short a proper on-boarding point for new audiences, actually introducing the characters and the world in a clearer way.

The characters could have been conveyed far more interestingly. Think how Bond, Indiana Jones, or even Gene Hunt are introduced: their unique traits are shown through unique memorable action and unexpected character moments. Ryan Drake, in contrast, was presented in a forgettable way. The actor chosen for the role lacked charisma and that X-factor essential to separate this from generic action movies.

As a short, the movie would have been stronger if it focused on character rather than plot. When I think of the recent Mission: Impossible films, the memorable elements aren't just "doing the thing to get the thing." It's the chemistry between Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and the cast, with relatable, raw moments of humanity and occasional comedy that keep us invested even when the action is intense. This short lacked that personality and character-driven engagement, which was half a writing issue and half a casting one.

On the acting front, most performances felt hammy and over-the-top. Acting isn't about stealing the scene - it's about reacting, about being present. Far too often, each actor seemed to be waiting for their turn to start chewing the scenery, rather than playing off each other. More blocking, rehearsal, and perhaps splitting duties between a VFX-focused director for the action and a drama-focused director for the character work would have helped significantly. That said, Andrea Pavlovic was very good and leagues ahead of the rest of the cast.

The action scenes were competently choreographed but ultimately forgettable. They felt generic, as though they could've taken place anywhere. Redrafting these sequences to better incorporate the environment would have made them feel more original and exciting.

Cinematography was solid but lacked establishing shots, which are essential for setting mood, tone, and spatial awareness. The audience needs wide shots to ground them in the scene before cutting into close-ups. Don't underestimate how atmospheric sound such as distant guard shouts, howling wind, or the creak of a prison gate-can transform a location from generic to immersive.

Which brings me to the weakest and most amateur aspect of the production, without question, the music. The score felt overbearing and cheap, dominating scenes where silence or subtle sound design could have been far more effective. The deathly echo of an empty prison, the sound of ragged breathing, the creaking of rope - these details can elevate a limited budget far better than drowning the entire soundscape in generic music.

All in all, this wasn't the worst short film ever made, but the premise had potential that was undercut by amateur mistakes, and core talent working with a budget far too big for their experience level. The script needed a redraft to better serve new audiences, and the direction was very weak. It's probably a valuable learning experience for Drinker as an executive producer: you can't just rely on a producer to make things cinematic. You need the right producer and the right director - someone who can demonstrate the knowledge and contacts to elevate the production properly.

Lastly, the opening logo was terrible and set a cheap, straight-to-DVD tone from the outset. It was 17 seconds long with clunky, amateurish animation all in a single unbroken static shot. The concept was nice, but next time, invest around £1500 to hire a skilled 3D artist who can create a cinematic photorealistic sequence with sweeping camera movement and a big budget cinematic flare. First impressions matter. Oh - and keep it under 12 seconds. I'm here for the movie, not a showcase of the producers ego.

Anyway, that's all I've got for today. Go away now!