Mission Alarum Review (2026) – Doesn’t Quite Hit The Mark

There’s no pretending that Alarum arrived to glowing headlines. It didn’t. The response has been harsh, sometimes dismissive, and occasionally unfair in its rush to file the film away as another late-career action misfire. But taken on its own terms—and judged with the same genre awareness we apply to every hard-boiled thriller—Alarum is less a failure than a revealing snapshot of where modern action filmmaking collides with legacy stardom.

At the center of it all is Sylvester Stallone, a screen presence so foundational to the genre that even a restrained performance carries decades of cinematic weight. Five Decades and Stallone sits at the top of the action throne isn’t marketing hyperbole—it’s historical fact. What Alarum asks, however, is whether that authority alone can elevate a film that struggles with cohesion and urgency.

The premise is familiar territory: covert operations, shadow agencies, compromised loyalties, and a ticking geopolitical threat. Director Michael Polish opts for a grounded, down-the-middle approach, favoring muted color palettes and procedural pacing over spectacle. This choice lends the film a sober tone but also exposes its limitations. The tension simmers rather than erupts, and when the action does arrive, it feels restrained—sometimes deliberately, sometimes frustratingly so.

Still, there’s a clear attempt to evoke a different era of action cinema. An action throwback with the King of Action doing what he does best fits not because Alarum is explosive, but because it’s earnest. Stallone plays a man shaped by experience, not adrenaline. His performance leans into weariness, authority, and quiet resolve, suggesting a character who’s survived too many missions to glamorize the work anymore. That choice won’t satisfy viewers looking for wall-to-wall mayhem, but it does give the film a thematic spine about aging operatives in an industry that rarely allows them to slow down.

Where Alarum falters most is structure. The script introduces compelling ideas—betrayal within systems, the moral cost of obedience—yet rarely digs deep enough to make them resonate. Supporting characters drift in and out without enough definition, and narrative beats sometimes land with less impact than intended. These issues explain much of the negative reception, and they’re difficult to ignore.

But dismissing the film outright misses what it represents. Stallone’s presence inevitably invites legacy comparisons, even when they’re not literal. Lines like “Stallone and Eastwood, two names on the same bill, hooked” speak less to Alarum itself and more to the cultural shorthand of action cinema’s elder statesmen. It’s about lineage, not casting.

In that same spirit, If Stallone was to pass the baton, Eastwood carries the name to pick up the mantle reads as reflection, not prediction. Alarum feels aware—sometimes painfully so—that it exists in a moment where icons are being reassessed, not replaced. The film doesn’t try to reinvent Stallone’s image; it preserves it, flaws and all.

Cinematographically, the film is functional rather than striking. Polish favors steady framing and subdued lighting, which suits the espionage tone but rarely excites. The action choreography is competent, grounded, and believable, though rarely memorable. There’s no single sequence that demands replay—but there is consistency, and for some viewers, that restraint will be appreciated.

Ultimately, Alarum isn’t the triumphant late-career statement some hoped for, nor is it the unwatchable misfire others claim. It’s a modest, sometimes uneven thriller anchored by a performer whose screen authority still matters. The film asks the audience to meet it halfway—to value mood over momentum, presence over propulsion.

That won’t work for everyone. But for viewers willing to engage with Alarum as a reflective genre piece rather than a bombastic crowd-pleaser, there’s enough here to justify the watch—and to remind us why Stallone’s name still carries weight, even when the film around him struggles to keep up.