Imagine if Bruce Wayne witnessed a tragedy at a young age but grew up in a poor family instead of a rich one. That's pretty much the premise of 'Boy Wonder'. Yet what unfolds isn't deep enough to make for anything but a passable diversion in the action genre.
I admire what the protagonist Sean Donovan stands for and his anti-law abiding tenets born from trauma. Afterall, the world could do with a vigilante or two tracking down criminals, delivering beatdowns before swift executions. But the film doesn't explore its ideas with enough verve, and the themes it tackles are rather diluted, thus diminishing its impact.
The effect of violence on Sean's psyche is also quite an abrupt shift, with the film not benefiting from its short runtime. More time to breathe in a longer film or, even better, a mini series would have prevented everything from feeling rushed. There are flashbacks to his childhood around the time of his Mum's murder and his Dad's drunken abuse, but there's a critical piece missing of how he came to become so enraged with society, and how he now moonlights with his hoody and face paint.
But even as I criticise this low-budget vigilante drama and how the aftermath of childhood trauma should have been included, there's just about enough here to like; and anyone partial to some onscreen retribution may even find it entertaining.
6.5/10
I admire what the protagonist Sean Donovan stands for and his anti-law abiding tenets born from trauma. Afterall, the world could do with a vigilante or two tracking down criminals, delivering beatdowns before swift executions. But the film doesn't explore its ideas with enough verve, and the themes it tackles are rather diluted, thus diminishing its impact.
The effect of violence on Sean's psyche is also quite an abrupt shift, with the film not benefiting from its short runtime. More time to breathe in a longer film or, even better, a mini series would have prevented everything from feeling rushed. There are flashbacks to his childhood around the time of his Mum's murder and his Dad's drunken abuse, but there's a critical piece missing of how he came to become so enraged with society, and how he now moonlights with his hoody and face paint.
But even as I criticise this low-budget vigilante drama and how the aftermath of childhood trauma should have been included, there's just about enough here to like; and anyone partial to some onscreen retribution may even find it entertaining.
6.5/10