I saw the trailer for KIN a while back. It had my curiosity. Black kid finds a gun that looks like it's from a Decepticon. He tries to protect his family... Hey, it looks better than the robot dog movie that you're already ignoring for obvious reasons. Anyway, I was lucky enough to see a screener of the film the other night and drank a few red bulls so I could bring a review to you.
Eli is a young ambitious kid who is mourning the death of his mom. While salvaging the abandoned buildings of Detroit he finds an Alien Weapon. Naturally, he keeps it secret from his strict blue-collar dad, played by Dennis Quaid. Quaid tries to instill values into his youngest son (Eli) while his eldest son Jimmy returns home from prison. Jimmy can't be apart of the family until he repays his prison debt to the local crime boss Taylor Balick, played by James Franco.
I don't wanna give too much of the plot away... sorry. But... I can say that the movie is worthy of your hard earned dollars. The main star is Myles Truitt who plays Eli. I love this kid's performance. The last thing I saw him in was VH1’s New Edition movie. He doesn't say a lot, but his body language does. Jack Reynor who plays his brother Jimmy is more hit than miss. He looks like if Stephen Amell and Chris Pratt did a fusion dance and became a below-par actor. Dennis Quaid is a veteran and gives a performance extremely similar to Kevin Costner in Man of Steel. Zoe Kravitz gave a good performance for a character with no name (seriously she was called "bitch" like twice, but never her actual name.) James Franco's portrayal of Taylor Balick was too good. He was such a convincing bad guy with a taste for revenge that you end up you hating Jimmy a lil more.
The film gives off a lot of Nostalgia. It doesn't surprise me since the producers are the same people behind Stranger Things. The trip down memory lane is more subtle than Ready Player one ...which isn't saying much since there was no subtlety in that tech fest. With a keen mix of practical effects, CGI, and some wild sequences your know the budget has to be a good one. But sadly the total production cost is a secret that the Baker Bros are not gonna tell. I tried to ask them after the film during the Q&A, but alas, mums the word. Overall I enjoyed "Kin" I hope people take the time out and enjoy this original Scifi film. With all of the amazing plot twists, I smell a franchise in the air. Final Grade B+ but I met them and they autographed my poster so I give them an A. (feel free to judge me)
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