Director: Justin Tipping
Writers: Joshua Beirne-Golden, Justin Tipping
Stars: Jahking Guillory, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Christopher Meyer
Running Time: 1 Hours 20 Minutes
Genres: Adventure
PLOT: Kicks is a coming of age story with many nostalgic callbacks to other films, The film opens with Brandon admitting in voiceoever that he has always dreamt of going into space, where it is quiet, where no one can mess with you. He dreams of a “spaceman” companion, a guardian angel astronaut who floats down into the middle of scenes, hovering over the streets, appearing at Brandon’s side, encouraging Brandon silently, or just standing watch over his charge. Brandon’s wishes for himself—freedom, quiet, to be left alone—is almost as strong as his wish for cool sneakers. Tipping picks and chooses the astronaut appearances very carefully, and so when the spaceman does appear it’s not a gimmick or a device. It’s the whole point. The astronaut, with mirrored helmet, hovers over the chaos, beckoning Brandon down this or that path. Sometimes the astronaut urges some pretty sketchy choices, but that’s evidence that Brandon is, after all, only 15 years old. He wants to fit in, he also wants to be his own person.
It takes an extremely clear vision to pull that off, and Tipping has that clear vision. This is a beautiful film and a major directorial debut. Check More Adventure Movies reviews and also give yours.