What prevents Alpha from being a slick, smart spy thriller — which is clearly the intention — is that old YRF weakness: the writing is borrowed and stale, reminding us of numerous films we have seen before.

Its action, much like its humorless dialogue and sudsy interpersonal relationships—and yes, even its standard-grade nationalism—is polished to a uniformly satisfying sheen.

At the end of my War 2 review, I had suggested that perhaps women will save the day for the YRF universe. They don’t not because they aren’t good enough but because they aren’t given the right narrative ammunition. And that is the THR bottomline.

Alpha may stumble but it pushes the genre forward.