Rogue Trooper review: Duncan Jones gets 2000 AD right, and then runs half an hour long

Right then, so Rogue Trooper lands as Duncan Jones' first cinematic outing since Mute way back in 2018, and yes, it's exactly as odd as you might expect if you know even a bit about Jones or the 2000 AD comic universe. We're talking hard-nosed war sci-fi, true to the original strip, but with a healthy slab of black humour and a guitar-wailing British soul—not at all interested in playing it safe for American tastes.

“Rogue Trooper is defiantly man-made, even when it’s all digital. It’s about as close to the comics as you’re ever going to get from a film.”

This one's set on Nu-Earth, a right gruesome planetary warzone fought over by the Norts and the Southers. You're following 19 (Aneurin Barnard)—a genetically-modified grunt who’s outlived both the enemy and his own squad. No, he’s not completely alone: his dead squadmates—Gunnar (Jack Lowden), Bagman (Reece Shearsmith), and Helm (Daryl McCormack)—have been uploaded into his gun, rucksack, and helmet. So, the lad’s essentially dragging around a talking arsenal while he tries to warn HQ of the mother-of-all-ambushes brewing back in friendly territory.

Jones has been ambitious with the kit here: Unreal Engine 5 under the bonnet, with the sort of motion-capture stunt work you’d expect from someone determined to prove they’re not just cranking out a quick digital job. The visuals have a distinct hands-on feel—sometimes they look a bit off, but never in that bland, video game way that lesser studios settle for. The whole thing comes off defiantly crafted—if Jones is ever going to be replaced by a computer, it won't be this year.

“In an era where AI threatens to usurp animation, Rogue Trooper is defiantly man-made.”

The love letter to 2000 AD is writ large, from the comic panel credits to the barmy sci-fi landscape and straight through to the dialogue—proper Brit, thick with slang and a kind of nonchalance only found on this side of the Atlantic. The soundtrack is a time machine: The Animals show up in a battle scene, while Chesney Hawkes and The Proclaimers (yes, really) crowd the music between Bear McCreary's more serious score. You either lean into that kind of mad curation or you wonder who smuggled the director’s old mixtape into the studio.

The Cast & Characters

• Aneurin Barnard as 19, the genetically engineered soldier haunted by loyalty and ghosts-in-the-machine.
• Reece Shearsmith (Bagman): the walking, talking rucksack, comic relief and slightly unhinged.
• Daryl McCormack (Helm): the brains, uploaded into a helmet (obviously).
• Jack Lowden (Gunnar): quite literally the brawn, disembodied in a gun.
• Jemaine Clement and Matt Berry show up as villains Brass and Bland, but frankly, they don't get a whole lot of interesting stuff to do.

Barnard fits the bill as the square-jawed lead—he’s all grim focus, powered on loyalty and survivor’s guilt. Shearsmith’s Bagman occasionally lands a decent gag, though sometimes wobbles dangerously close to dad-joke infamy (yes, he actually does 'Stayin’ Alive' amidst gunfire; you decide if that’s clever or cringe). The film’s at its best in surreal action or when it leans into comic weirdness—less so during long spells with under-written supporting nasties.

Rogue Trooper doesn’t always nail the tone: the action gets repetitive, jokes sometimes miss, and at two hours it definitely overstays its welcome. Yet for all that, it’s hard not to admire how much it marches to its own beat. This is a proper cult film in the making—especially for 2000 AD fans desperate for a faithful screen version. On this side of the pond, it’ll get plenty of grins (and eye-rolls); across in North America, it’ll be strictly for the oddballs and purists.

Rogue Trooper clocks in at a hefty two hours—a bit much, unless you're absolutely smitten with the comic.