film reel image

film reel image

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Kin 2018 * * * 1/2 Stars

KinDirectors: Jonathan Baker, Josh Baker
Year: 2018
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Jack Reynor, Zoe Kravitz, Dennis Quaid

A troubled, adopted boy from Detroit stumbles upon a spaced-aged gun capable of blowing a hole through anything. The boy vows to use the Oblivion-style weapon to protect his older brother from some nasty gangsters he owes money to. That's the blueprint of Kin, a vehicle that studios pined to make in the 80's but rarely have the Repo Man-like cojones to make today.

Now Kin got lost in the summer shuffle of Marvel blockbusters, 2018's Ocean's 8 (ugh), Mission: Impossible sequels, and bad shark pics (yes I'm talking about The Meg). Kin's featured carbine with its crisp reloading sounds, its warlike statue, and its gleaming amount of red light gadgetry, feels like an actual star in the movie.

Related imageEncompassing a lousy box office take, an uninspired marketing campaign, and an end-of-August opening date, Kin will probably bow out in theaters very soon. Rather than salivate over what new fall releases enter the horizon, I suggest you see this refreshing bit of genre reverie and see it stat!

Anyway, Kin is dirtied-up, lower class sci-fi, furnished with an earthy post-rock soundtrack and some 70's tunes by the likes of one Joni Mitchell (1974's "Help Me" never sounded so good). Kin is also a thinking man's form of science fiction, relying less on bloodshed and plot over plot and more on character-driven theatrics.

Kin while never lacking in ingenuity, presents itself as a road trip movie, a slick techno fever dream, a squib of present day dystopia, and an exhilarating fantasy par excellence. You'll dig the raw performance of Chris Pratt lookalike Jack Reynor, the comfortable work of James Franco as Kin's scruffy heavy, Kin's surprise ending, and the badass cameo of Michael B. Jordan that goes along with said ending (I gotta say Kin's revelatory coda makes it a better film than it already is).

Image result for kin movie scenesBottom line: Kin may have not found an audience or caught the cult bug but I'm happy to start a cinematic petition. Call it my new and long lost "broheim". Call it sci-fi True Romance meets sci-fi Afterschool Special. Call it Kinship! Rating: 3 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

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