My quick rating – 4.2/10. I think The Internship wanted to be a bleak, rage-fueled action thriller about stolen childhoods and institutional cruelty. However, it feels like it’s unsure whether it wants to be Nikita, The Amateur or a very angry episode of Spy Kids that accidentally wandered into R-rated territory.
The film opens with a theft that quickly devolves into a bloody gunfight, immediately introducing one of its most persistent problems – the CGI blood. Within the first twelve minutes, the splatter is already so artificial and overused that it becomes distracting rather than visceral. This is surprising, especially since the film feels like it had a slightly higher budget than what’s ultimately reflected onscreen. Shot in Sofia, Bulgaria, the locations themselves look solid enough, but the digital excess undermines any sense of danger the action is trying to convey.
We’re introduced to Catalyst (Lizzy Greene), the ringleader determined to dismantle the CIA’s secret assassin-training program known as “The Internship.” Her goal is simple. Expose the program, locate the other recruits, and burn the whole thing down. The team she assembles – Analyst, Apothecary, Caliber, Rubicon, and the notably spotlighted Dagger – gets rolled out via a montage that feels more stylized than intimidating. Despite the film’s darker intentions, the group’s presentation often leans closer to youthful operatives than hardened killers, which clashes with the supposed brutality of their upbringing.
On the opposing side of the spectrum, the CIA inserts Candace (Megan Boone), who is the biological mother of Catalyst and was unaware of her daughter’s existence as she gave her up for adoption. It’s a rich concept that the film doesn’t delve into enough. Candace works alongside Nelson, played by Sullivan Stapleton, and though both actors are solid, the storyline feels like a necessity rather than a genuine anchor. Flashbacks are used to depict the suffering these children went through, but they are fleeting.
The script starts wobbling when it hits the inevitable “someone is the mole” subplot. Catalyst conveniently scripts out reasons why literally everyone could be the traitor, which drains the mystery rather than building tension. Rubicon’s hacking scenes are particularly rough, with typing that looks laughably fake even by genre standards. Logic also takes repeated hits, with characters magically finding each other in one scene and being completely untraceable in the next, sometimes back-to-back.
While the action itself is mildly entertaining, it’s nothing to write home about. There are some nicely framed scenes that showcase what this could have looked like. Of course, this is assuming that the action was more tightly choreographed and less plagued by digital blood. The final showdown comes and goes suddenly, and I found myself asking aloud to no one, “Wait, is that it?” The twist, however, feels like it was retrofitted, like the writers decided who the mole was and then came up with an explanation for it afterward. I assume after someone complained about it not making sense.
And then, instead of giving us a definitive ending, The Internship awkwardly leaves the door open for a sequel. Unfortunately, given how shaky the foundation is, that’s exactly what the open door feels like. Wishful thinking.
