Not your average superhero!

FILM ONLY REVIEW

Dennis Sullivan is an accountant who works for a big company and seems to be unnoticed by his work colleagues. As a result his boss gives him a big account to take care of. He is to be working for a very wealthy widow and her son and is told to do whatever it takes to get the papers signed.

Dennis meets the family, Katie and son Jake who is obsessed with Man America. He instantly likes than and starts to get his work done. Dennis sees a massive opportunity to get on side with Jake and he goes to buy a Man America costume. Unfortunately when he is in the costume shop there is a robbery and fortunately he saves the day. The only problem is that he is dressed as Man America and it reaches the news and papers that Man America has come to help the city.

Dennis is in a dilemma now as he wants to get his job done but he does not want to lie and hurt Katie and Jake, just will he continue being Man America and will anyone discover his lies?

I had never even heard of this film before sitting down to watch it. I decided to give it a watch as it was a children’s film and I needed something light and easy to watch which did not require a lot of brain power. I have to say neither me or hubby were overly impressed with the film and felt it was lacking overall in so many things. The storyline was good and ideal for children as they will be able to easily follow what is going on but for me it could have done with a little more and the acting also seemed very half hearted.

The lead role of Dennis was played by Christopher Gorham and he seemed a good choice for the role, he came across as a normal down to Earth man who was nothing special. He seemed quite nice and genuine and seemed to really like Katie and Jake, I did feel he was lacking in his delivery and at times he seemed very flat and there was little emotion to his role. He did grow slightly as the film moved on but not enough to warrant a great performance. The role of Jake was slight better, he was a cute boy who was super hero obsessed, he did a better job with his lines and delivered them all with meaning. I felt he did a good job in expressing his emotions and feelings. Katie was a little weak and she seemed to enjoy playing the grieving and depressed widow. I felt she needed more strength and back bone to make the role more convincing. The one role which I did enjoy was that of house keeper Maureen, she was a big strong woman and I loved how she spoke her mind, I would say she was definitely the strongest character in the film.

The setting for the film was modern and in America so no real effort was needed for the sets or costumes, they were all very good and fitting for the film. The one costume which I did not like was that of Man America, I felt it was just too ordinary and there was no way Dennis was disguised by wearing it. I think more imagination should have been used for the design of the outfit to make it more realistic and appealing to the target audience.

There were some small action scenes and a few fights in the film and they were not overly bad and they fitted in with the style and theme of the film. I felt some of the fighting looked very staged and choreographed but maybe this was me being overly picky and I don’t think young children will notice or be bothered by it. None of the action or fights are scary or bloody so they will not offend or upset children when watching the film.

The music was nothing special at all and I am now not able to remember a single track which was used. I think a strong soundtrack would have perhaps made this film slightly better to watch. It is a modern film so we could have had a very modern and upbeat soundtrack to appeal to the audience. I think we definitely needed a stronger Man America theme which could have been replayed whenever he donned the outfit as this would have bough familiarity to the children.

This is a film only review so there are no bonus features available. The DVD is one which I have not seem when looking at the latest realises in the shops. I have looked on Amazon and I am only able to find it for sale in a regaion1 version. This is available to watch on Sky movies though. The running time of the film is roughly 90 minutes, it does not seem to be listed anywhere so I cannot confirm this, It is only a short film which should be able to hold the attention of young children. The rate is a PG and I do agree with this, there are some small scenes with fighting but nothing which cannot be seen on the TV any time of the day and there are no parts which will offend viewers.

I am only able to give this film 3 stars, this is mainly as I have rated it on how I feel it will come across to the target audience. I feel for the parents watching, it may be a little dull and lacking in comedy and emotions but children should be able to relate well to the story and enjoy it. I would not advise paying to watch this but try to catch it on the movie channels instead.