Christian Zübert directed and wrote Netflix’s Exterritorial (2025), which is a German action-thriller. In just six weeks, it has become one of the most popular non-English films of the year, with over 83 million views. The movie has a great premise and a great performance by Jeanne Goursaud. It is a high-octane experience that combines intense action with psychological intrigue. Exterritorial doesn’t change the genre, but it’s a fun ride for fans of movies like Taken or The Bourne Identity. However, it does have some problems with the story. Here’s a close look at what makes this bilingual thriller work.
Plot: A Mother’s Desperate Battle in a Maze of Lies
Exterritorial is about Sara Wulf (Jeanne Goursaud), a former Special Forces soldier who is dealing with PTSD from her time in Afghanistan. Sara’s life falls apart when her young son, Josh (Rickson Guy da Silva), goes missing inside the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, while they are there to apply for a visa. Even stranger, consulate officials, including Regional Security Officer Eric Kynch (Dougray Scott), say that Josh was never there, even though surveillance footage shows Sara alone. Sara takes matters into her own hands when the German authorities gaslight her and don’t have the power to help her. She fights off security forces while navigating the consulate’s maze-like hallways to find a dark conspiracy. Along the way, she meets Irina (Lera Abova), a political prisoner with her own secrets, which makes the mystery even more interesting.
The premise—a mother’s unending search for her child—draws on familiar action-thriller tropes, but Exterritorial stands out by placing the drama in the unusual, cramped space of a U.S. consulate, where diplomatic immunity creates a legal gray area. The movie hints at psychological thriller elements by playing with Sara’s PTSD and the question of whether her son’s disappearance is real or just her mind playing tricks on her. Then it switches to a more straightforward action story.
Good things: A Powerful Lead and Gripping Action
Jeanne Goursaud’s powerful performance as Sara is the best thing about the movie. Goursaud makes Sara a believable action hero and a mother who is haunted by her past by giving her both physical strength and emotional depth. Her fight scenes, which are often shot in long takes, are gritty and well-choreographed. They show off her Special Forces training in a way that feels real and doesn’t go overboard like Hollywood does. In one of the best scenes in the consulate’s hallways, Sara takes down several attackers. This shows how well the movie was made and how magnetic Goursaud is.
The action scenes are the best part; they hit you hard with smooth choreography and a little bit of blood that keeps things real. The consulate setting makes the tension even worse, making the room feel small and cramped, just like Sara’s desperation. The fact that the characters switch between German and English makes it feel more real, especially since Dougray Scott speaks both languages so well as the mysterious Kynch. Irina by Lera Abova is a great foil, and their teamwork adds moments of friendship that make the film’s emotional core stronger.
Critics have praised the movie for being fun to watch. John Serba of Decider called it “a rock-solid, entertaining thriller,” and Archi Sengupta of LeisureByte gave it 4 out of 5 stars for its “fantastic performances.” Robert Daniels of the New York Times said that the film’s success in showing Sara’s fight for recognition was due in part to the “oppressively white and bright setting” and Zübert’s use of long takes.
Weaknesses: Plot holes and a climax that everyone can see coming
Even though Exterritorial has some good points, its story doesn’t work well. The movie starts off with a promising psychological thriller setup that makes you question Sara’s reality and mental state. However, it quickly turns into a more standard action plot, leaving some interesting questions unanswered. Jonathon Wilson of Ready Steady Cut is one of the critics who says that the movie “exchanges its ambiguity for a straightforward approach,” missing a chance to lean into its horror-inspired premise. The conspiracy at the center of the story is interesting, but it feels too big and obvious, and the climax doesn’t deliver the emotional payoff that the buildup promised.
There are also plot holes in the movie. Reviewers have said that it doesn’t make sense for one person to be able to get into a heavily guarded consulate for so long without being caught. They also said that the lack of security and delayed alarms feel like convenient plot devices. Casey Chong of Casey’s Movie Mania didn’t like the “clunky exposition” and uneven pacing. Others said the story wasn’t original and compared it to Flightplan or Frantic with a different setting. The supporting cast is good, but some of the minor characters don’t do a good job, and the dialogue sometimes sounds forced. One IMDb reviewer even joked that the lines could have been “written on toilet paper.”
Reception: A worldwide success with mixed reviews
Exterritorial has been a huge hit on Netflix, topping the charts in 79 countries and becoming the fifth most popular non-English film on the site with 83 million views. But critics have very different opinions about it. Some people like the action and entertainment value, while others don’t like the plot and how it doesn’t fit together. The movie has a 43% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 5.8/10 on IMDb, which shows that people don’t all agree on it. People on X are also split about it. Some, like @TyirahKayy, give it a perfect 10/10, while others, like @hook_gc, give it a 6/10 for its good but not great execution.
Cultural Resonance and Themes
Exterritorial is more than just an action movie; it also deals with themes of maternal love, institutional corruption, and the psychological effects of trauma. Sara’s PTSD makes her character more interesting, but the movie doesn’t go into this side of her enough. The consulate setting is a metaphor for how bureaucrats don’t care and how power is abused. The movie subtly criticizes American influence abroad, which some viewers connected to historical events like the Treaty of Nanking, as noted in an X post by @Oyebanji_akins. The film has a diverse cast, with a Black consul head and a mixed-race child, which makes it more inclusive, but it doesn’t go into these dynamics very much.
Should you watch it?
Exterritorial is a great addition to Netflix‘s action-thriller library. It’s perfect for people who want a fast-paced, no-nonsense popcorn movie. It scratches the itch for mid-budget action movies that are like those from the ’90s, thanks to Jeanne Goursaud’s strong performance and well-made fight scenes. People who expect a groundbreaking psychological thriller or a tightly woven plot may be let down by the movie’s predictable twists and logical gaps. Rotten Tomatoes said it best: “the Taco Bell of action thrillers: barely satisfying, but cheap, easy to get, and almost tasty.”
Exterritorial is a good movie for fans of thrillers like Taken or Die Hard. It’s best if you can ignore its flaws and enjoy its fast pace. You can watch it on Netflix for a tense, action-packed night that will keep you interested.
Release Date: April 30, 2025 | Director: Christian Zübert | Starring: Jeanne Goursaud, Dougray Scott, Lera Abova | Runtime: 1h 49m | Genre: Action, Thriller | Platform: Netflix
Rating: 3.5/5
Stream Exterritorial now on Netflix.
