To the untrained nerd/geek, a movie
entitled, Boy Wonder sends the vibe of a superhero movie. Granted it
contains the structure reminiscent of a comic character origin (as
any character driven narrative should have). Boy Wonder isn't so much
a comic book super hero film as it is a revenge film.
At an early age a Sean Donovan (Caleb
Steinmeyer ) witness the murder of his mother. This in turn causes
him to lead a very antisocial life consisting of no real friends,
just a few acquaintances. Living alone with his father, Terry Donovan
(Bill Sage) the two of them keep a fragile relationship that was
built from past abuse in Terry's heavy drinking days. Sean turns most
of his free time to academics getting him straight A's. Though still
haunted by the loss of his mother, Sean keeps the hope of finding her
killer and one day bringing them to justice.
Enter Detective Teresa Ames (Zulay
Henao ) who was the arresting detective in the Larry Childs (James
Russo) case. A huge case that got her promoted to homicide.
Unfortunately it was bitter sweet
and cost her family life. Once in her new role Teresa meets Sean for
the first time. Who is allowed to peruse through mug shots in hopping
to find the scum that killed his mother. Sean uses this to access a
slew of scum bags to extract his own brand of justice.
As
Sean and Teresa start forming an awkward friendship/relationship,
while Sean hunts for these random criminals he uncovers more clues
about his past and himself. Sean's quest picks up as he discovers
some unknown bits about his father. Unbeknownst to Teresa, she
follows Sean's vigilante spree looking for an end game.
Boy
Wonder is written and directed by Michael Morrissey. The first time
director does a decent job of creating an interesting narrative in
Boy Wonder. The film only hits a few pacing speed bumps due to some
awkward dialog between Caleb and Zulay. This falls mostly on Zulay's
shoulders, due to the fact she never really seems comfortable in her
role as a detective. Very rarely does she emit any confidence while
on screen. Caleb Steinmeyer's performance takes a little while to
warm up to but when he gets going he plays the part well. Some other
decent performances are that of Daniel Stewart Sherman for some
chuckles as Zulay's partner and Bill Sage pulls out some pretty good
intensity and range throughout.
Along
the way Morrissey treats the viewer to some fun action scenes, one
being on a subway all la some brass knuckles and the other at a house
party. The movie does have a few other surprises along the way (the
ending being one of them) in terms of dialog and performances that
does keep things interesting.
Overall
Boy Wonder is an entertaining ride through Sean's physique. It has
that slight flair that plays reminiscent of The Punisher but manages
to keep in a home brew do-it-yourself kind of vengeance. Morrissey
shows a lot of potential for a first time director. He has the room
to grow into something real special and it would be a treat to see
something from him real soon. More info on the film can be foundon the official web site .
Overall Score - 7.5/10