Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Outside the Wire.
In Netflix's action sci-fi thriller Outside the Wire, the world is saved from WWIII, but the movie leaves some big unanswered questions. Outside the Wire was written by Rowan Athale and Rob Yescombe and directed by Mikael Håfström. The movie stars Damson Indris (Snowfall) as U.S. Air Force drone pilot Lt. Thomas Harp. Anthony Mackie (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) plays his partner and commanding officer, Captain Leo. The movie tackles familiar territory following Leo and Harp as they race to stop a Russian terrorist, Viktor Koval (Pilou Asbæk), from launching a nuclear strike against the United States.
In the year 2036, a civil war is raging in Eastern Europe, and the U.S. has deployed troops to serve as peacekeepers. After disobeying a direct order and blowing up an enemy vehicle that results in two soldiers' deaths, Harp is sent to the demilitarized zone to gain some combat experience and empathy for those on the ground. In what seems like a counterintuitive move, Harp is paired with Leo, an android super-soldier, and the two travel "outside the wire" to chase down warlord Koval before he launches a stash of nukes locked away since the end of the Cold War. Along the way, Leo schools Harp (who, before his new assignment, only viewed the conflict from a safe distance sitting in front of a military-grade video game console) about the inhumanity of war, and Harp begins to understand there's no such thing as worthwhile collateral damage.
The plot is uninspired from the start, but it becomes downright nonsensical as Harp discovers that Leo hasn't been exactly truthful about their mission. To teach mankind that the mechanization of combat (also in the mix are fighting robots called "Gumps") breeds apathy and ambivalence, he kills Koval and decides to launch the nuclear weapons himself. Leo assumes his "creators" (the military) won't produce any more super soldiers if he succeeds in killing millions of innocent people. Leo's plan pits him against Harp, who believes changing the hearts and minds of humankind is possible without using nuclear annihilation to prove a point. Harp redeems himself, but whether or not his optimism remains intact is just one of several unanswered questions.
What Happened To Leo's Predecessors?
Leo tells Harp he's a "fourth-generation biotech," but he shoots down any further questions about himself by saying the information is "classified." The only people on the base who know Leo's not human are Harp and the commanding officer Colonel Eckhart (Michael Kelly). Leo's purpose is obvious, but his origin remains a mystery. How does this version of Leo differ from the others, and how did the evolution take place? Do the previous androids still exist, or were they destroyed? Mackie, who also served as a producer, told Forbes he envisions Outside the Wire as a franchise in which Leo's history would feature more prominently in a future film.
“It can go into the far, far future, or it can literally take place at any point along the timeline. There have been so many incarnations of Leo. You can go back to his backstory and show the very first one, who he was and how he was created to be a supersoldier of sorts.”
Both Harp and Leo are thinly-drawn characters. The writers throw in that Leo likes Ella Fitgerald and Louis Armstrong and that Harp has a fiance and possibly some daddy issues, but those turn out to be inconsequential details. There would be plenty to explore in sequels.
When Did Leo Go Rogue?
Leo's mission appears straightforward at first. It's his job "to locate and remove advanced weapons from insurgents beyond the wire." However, long before Harp arrives, Leo's been putting his plan, which relies heavily on Harp's responses and actions being entirely predictable, into action. Even with his fail-safe switch in place, Leo operates with a great deal of autonomy, and he successfully establishes working relationships with the warring factions, the Resistance and the Krasny.
The movie never establishes when Leo decides to go off-book. Presumably, the programming that instilled in him the capacity for empathy, pain, and other human emotions allows for self-actualization to understand what a threat he poses. Leo and Resistance leader Sofiyah (Emily Beecham) appear to agree that the conflict will never end because it serves the U.S.'s interests to keep Russia destabilized. They also resent the U.S. military's cavalier attitude when it comes to protecting human lives aside from their own.
It's important to note that Leo's actions are often contradictory, as he puts his mission above the safety of civilians: a task he leaves to Harp. His plan is ultimately flawed, and his logic is convoluted. How would launching a nuclear strike against the U.S. save hundreds of millions? If he'd been successful in his task, the US would have inevitably fired back, leading to WWIII. Ultimately, Outside the Wire is less concerned with plausibility than trying to make another action movie that delivers a familiar message: man is better than a machine.
Why Didn't Sofiyah Kill Harp?
Harp sits idly by for most of the movie, offering up half-hearted objections to Leo's actions. He suggests involving the higher-ups (who are woefully incompetent) but winds up backing down. His lack of experience, his misguided belief that Leo is doing the right thing, and fear of the repercussions of disobeying Leo's orders allow Leo to guide him deeper down the rabbit hole. Mackie's character is enigmatic and, in Harp's words, "persuasive." By the time Leo begins putting the pieces together, he's in Sofiyah's hands, who inexplicably lets him go. She's proven she'll kill for the cause, and even if Leo explicitly told her not to kill Harp, sending him back to the base isn't a wise move. No matter how much she underestimates Harp's ability to stop Leo, the rookie is a wild card and a loose end.
Is Sofiyah Right About The War?
Sofiyah's convinced the civil strife will be a neverending conflict fueled by the U.S.'s involvement. With Koval and Leo dead and the nukes destroyed, what happens next? Koval had the Kremlin's support, so will Russia give up or find another fanatic to further their cause? Will the U.S. stoke the fires of dissension or pack up and go home? From the way the movie set up, it appears she's not entirely wrong in her belief.
What Happens To Harp?
Within 48 hours of Harp's arrival in the demilitarized zone, he saves the world and gets to return home. He's more seasoned but also more idealistic. Does Harp assume the epic fail of "Operation Leo" means the military will abandon the program altogether? Go back to the drawing board and do better next time? The Gumps will go away, even though Russia has its own? Will he go back to piloting drones but feel okay about it because he won't be so quick to condemn two soldiers to death? The narrative is all over the place and ultimately collapses in on itself. The ill-conceived twist negates the otherwise interesting ideological debate that runs throughout the film. The only man who appears poised to do better is Harp, and his future is uncertain.
Will There Be Any More Leos?
Obviously, if Mackie has anything to say about it, an Outside the Wire 2 will happen. The question is whether Leo will return further into the future after his creators have worked out the design flaws or an origin story that explores how the idea of Leo was born and nurtured.
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January 18, 2021 at 08:41AM
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Outside The Wire: Biggest Unanswered Questions | Screen Rant - Screen Rant
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