‘Take a stand’
Occupation: Rainfall is a 2020 Australian science fiction film about a few survivors mounting a fight back against an intergalactic invasion. The movie is a sequel to Occupation (2018).
Written and directed by Luke Sparke (Occupation; Red Billabong).
The Occupation Two Productions movie stars Ken Jeong (Crazy Rich Asians, The Hangover Trilogy), Daniel Gillies (Vampire Diaries), Dan Ewing (Love and Monsters), Dena Kaplan (Dance Academy), Temuera Morrison (Aquaman), Mark Coles Smith (Last Cab To Darwin), Jet Tranter (Thor: Ragnarök), Lawrence Makoare (The Lord Of The Rings), David Roberts (The Matrix 2 and 3), Vince Colosimo (Chopper) as well as Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter) as Steve the alien.
Plot:
Two years into an intergalactic invasion of earth, survivors in Sydney, Australia, fight back in a desperate ground war. As casualties mount by the day, the resistance and their unexpected allies, uncover a plot that could see the war come to a decisive end. With the alien invaders hell-bent on making earth their new home, the race is on to save mankind…
Reviews:
“Acting as a sequel, but big enough to be seen as a stand-alone adventure, Occupation: Rainfall at least proves that the passion is there from an Australian cast and crew to deliver a no-brainer action film as big as Hollywood could do. While it offers nothing special for the genre, it delivers enough entertainment and ticks all the boxes far better than many other independent offerings.” Flickering Myth
“It is tough to gauge what is worse about this Australian action sci-fi effort: the outrageously cliche-riddled script by writer-director Luke Sparke, or the way Sparke seems to have encouraged his cast […} to deliver epically poor performances. However, […] Sparke and his collaborators have made something that looks like it had a vastly bigger budget…” The Guardian
” …Occupation: Rainfall is a messy film that takes itself far too seriously, which severely impacts its entertainment value. Where the film could have been a fun B-movie, Luke Sparke instead spends far too much time with plenty of uninteresting characters.” Movie Babble
” …yes, this likely too-critical writer had a number of issues with the Occupation: Rainfall, but it is, nevertheless, a bombastic and occasionally quite fun film. And hey, to reiterate: This is a blockbuster-style action sci-fi film from Australia, and I, for one, am grateful…” Screen Realm
” …players give good performances, although with so much action occurring between every syllable of dialogue, it is difficult to identify one who is notably stronger than the others. What is most striking, however, are the themes that Sparke has woven throughout his story. Amongst the persistent chaos is an exploration of humanity and the nature of man.” Stack
” …I do admit I thoroughly enjoy this kind of SciFi, and that it is not for everyone. But I had a blast with Occupation: Rainfall from start to finish. It was funny, had good action set pieces, and the cast were all there for its sometimes bonkers premise.” TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis
” …much of the attempts at drama fall flat due to the lack of developed characters. In particular, the conflict between Matt and Garry is annoying rather than interesting […] But as two hours of straight-up fun, Occupation: Rainfall hits the mark way more than it misses. It knows its strengths and plays to them nicely.” Voices from the Balcony
Release:
Monster Pictures released Occupation: Rainfall in Australian cinemas on 28th January 2021.
In the USA, Occupation: Rainfall will be released on Blu-ray and DVD by Lionsgate on August 10th 2021. Special features:
Audio commentary by writer-director Luke Sparke
Audio commentary by writer-director Luke Sparke, producers Carly Imrie and Carmel Imrie, actor Zachary Garred, and visual effects supervisor Alex Becconsall
Sydney Escape featurette
Deleted scenes with optional commentary by writer-director Luke Sparke
Background:
Writer-director Luke Sparke: “I had lots of ideas for Occupation that I just couldn’t include on the available budget. With Rainfall I said from the get-go I’m going to write what I think the film needs, no matter how ambitious it is and then we’ll sit down and figure out how to make it happen – and what I wrote was huge. A sprawling film with so many action sequences, locations and set pieces.
We announced it even before the first film was out, in a way telling the world that Australians can make big films like this. We have the capacity, the crews, the talent, to tell stories on a huge canvas and to get those big stories on screen.”
Main cast and characters:
Temuera Morrison … Peter Bartlett
Daniel Gillies … Wing Commander Hayes
Jason Isaacs
Ken Jeong
Lawrence Makoare
Dan Ewing … Matt Simmons
David Roberts … Abraham
Mark Coles Smith … Captain Wessex
Dena Kaplan … Robin Sigiro
Vince Colosimo … Jacob
Izzy Stevens … Bella Bartlett
Jet Tranter … Amelia
Brad McMurray
Katrina Risteska … Suarez
Erin Connor … Jenny Bartlett
Laura Reid … Refugee / Captured Human
Zac Garred … Dennis
Chloe De Los Santos … Kid Spy
Trystan Go … Marcus Chambers
Tyson Palmer … Villager Boy
Madison Haley … Katherine Hayes
John Reynolds … Captain Bayley
Jessica Britt … Refugee
Alex Radu … Villager
Ellyse Gough … Soldier
Oliver De Los Santos … Kid Spy
Technical details:
128 minutes
Audio: Dolby Atmos
Aspect ratio: 2.35: 1
Trailer:
