The Legend of Action Man (2010)

A superhero that never grew up.

Director:

Andy Young

Writers:

Derek Papa, Andy Young

Stars:

James McEnelly, Trey Dixon, Derek Papa

Cast

Credited cast:
James McEnelly	...	Action Man
Trey Dixon	...	Mark
Derek Papa	...	Mr. Kristofferson / Jerry Lebowitz
Chris Newhouse	...	Jonathan Magnum
Justin Green	...	Norm
David Gardner	...	Officer David
Patrick Kail	...	Angry Citizen
Brian Lisco	...	Aquaman
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jonathan Young	...	Annoyed Citizen
Lisa Young	...	Annoyed Citizen #2

Storyline

In the quiet city of Sugar Land, one man fights to keep his city safe. Unfortunately, he's the one causing half the crimes, and Action Man is warned that if he steps out of line one more time he'll be put under house arrest. In comes Mark, a news intern looking for a story to get his work on the News, and Action Man seems like an interesting case. That is, until a murder is reported and the new duo suspects Jonathan Magnum, a suspicious millionaire who just moved in down the block. Can Action Man stop his first real villain, or is he in over his head?

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | murder | five word title | death | independent film | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Box Office

Budget:

$200 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Made on a budget of only $200 pooled together by writers Derek Papa and Andy Young.

User Reviews

Good for their age. Doesn't hold it's own.

I originally intended to see this movie knowing that the kids, and I use that term loosely, were close to my age and filmed entirely in Sugarland, a town not far from me. The kids were right out of High school/freshman college and were looking for a summer project to do. It was clearly a project.

After reading the IMDb page for Mr. Young, I have assessed a few things. He has not found his voice yet. His large influences are Trey Parker and Akiva Shaffer, these influences overbear the directors own voice. The mannerisms and premise of Action Man seems based entirely off of Trey Parker's "The Coon." As well as many of the action sequences take the exact same running gag of Akiva Shaffer's "Hot Rod." (He thinks his stunts are impressive, when they in fact are not.) Now I do not know if Mr. Young and Mr. Papa (co writer) are fans of Derrick Comedy, but the plot is eerily similar to the troupes main screen debut of "Mystery Team." That being said, the lame Christian Bale jokes, the inept super hero, turned city's only hope, is an overworked angle. If you were to sit down and count movies with similar premises over the last 3 years, surely you would be forced to start counting with toes and other extremities.

The kids should be proud of what they have done. When I went to watch with a friend, the entire theater was crowded and I believe sold out. This is an amazing achievement for young filmmakers. But if they can make a great film on their own merits, and not just their darling faces and lack of experience remains to be seen.

The film is technically proficient, well acted and planned for their small budget, but their story lacks a sense of originality and personal voice of some clearly talented fella's.

I hope it gets better. But whether or not the kids plan on making a career out of this movie idea, they deserve to be proud of their "summer project."