|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
THE BOYS ARE BACK |
  |
|
Clive Owen is not the super hero type though he frequently plays one. I have never been impressed when he presents himself as
a guy who dodges bullets and flies through the air. "The Boys are Back" is the type of film I expect from him and he delivers. However little else does. It is the story of a man named Joe who is suddenly put in the position of caring for his young son (played by Nick McAnulty) after
the boys mother and Joe's wife dies from cancer. |
|
|
|
|
|
Joe is the top sports writer for the local Australian newspaper and is often on the road covering sporting events. His single parenting is
obviously very inconvenient. On top of that, a son named Harry (George MacKay) from a previous marriage in England wants to come live with him when his mother
becomes pregnant by her current boy friend. Now a man who barely knows what it means to be a father is a ward to two needful boys - the youngest showing latent grieving by acting out and being disruptive. Of course there is a grandmother - the mother of his late wife - who would like nothing better than to raise the youngest as a replacement for her lost daughter. |
|
|
|
|
|
Director Scott Hicks does a decent job of storytelling but is offering nothing new from his last feature, Catherine Zeta-Jones "No Reservation"
where she was a top chef thrust into sudden guardianship of her niece (played by Abigail Breslin). He even tosses in a possible love interest when he introduces the attractive and available single mom (Ellen Booth) - a fellow parent from school. "the Boys are Back" breaks absolutely no new ground. None. It merely give Owen a different venue from the action flicks. Given the release of more compelling unique films, "The Boys are Back" will have a tough time finding an audience, especially with it's limited release.
--GEOFFREY BURTON
|
|
