Spectral written by Ian Fried, Nic Mathieu, and George Nolfi

This started off as a great applied science film, and then it drove right off a cliff.

A tactical unit encounters an enemy -- the likes of which it's never seen before -- and sends the report up the chain of command. Engineers are sent in; they figure out how to observe the enemy; this allows them to see where the enemy has problems, and then start devising ways to stop/kill it.

The trouble starts when they don't test and iterate their prototypes. And then the pseudo-science starts pouring in with the weapons development and unidentified enemy hypotheses.

From the film blurbs, this seemed like Ghostbusters with Iraq War veterans instead of professional comedians, i.e. Act Of Valor + Range 15 humor + ghosts. This film ain't that.

The underlying story mechanics seem solid; instead of a Predator-like filme where the unit has zero operational support, pull in the chain of command. How would the command structure handle unknown deadly force?