On Aug 31, sci-fi thriller film, Kin, was released. The film is written and directed by brothers Josh and Jonathan Baker, who also wrote and directed the short film Bag Man (2014), which is what Kin is based on. As of 9/12, the movie held the No. 17 spot at the box office. This movie had potential and a good plot, but fell short due to a lack of advertising.
Kin follows 14-year-old Eli Solinski (Miles Truitt) and his ex-con brother Jimmy (Jack Reynor) as they run from the gang hired to protect Jimmy while he was in prison. After a fatal shootout with the gang, Jimmy whisks Eli away without telling him why for a road trip from Chicago to Lake Tahoe. Eli is hiding a secret from Jimmy as well — inter-stellar weapon he found in an abandoned building.
On their trip, they meet Milly (Zoe Kravitz), a dancer for a club. She joins them as a guide and for a chance to get away from the life she’s been trapped in for so long. However, they don’t realize that the soldiers who own the gun that Eli stole are chasing them.
In terms of sci-fi and action movies, Kin ticks all the boxes. It has the classic shootouts, bar fights and obscure robotic technology. Overall it was a decent film, but felt lacking in terms of plot and consistency. About halfway into the film, it starts to feel like it’s wrapping up, but a decent chunk of the story remains and the main conflict has yet to arise.
The plot lacked consistency, and a large part of the main conflict is left unexplained. Although holes in the story might have been meant to allow lead-in for the next sequel, it caused the first part of the movie to move slowly. The first part of the film seems irrelevant when compared to the second part, and it feels like filler by the end.
Another issue was the lack of promotional material for this movie. Only one trailer was produced for the film, and it was came up very little in on TV and ads on apps. The trailer was short and it was not enticing enough to draw an audience into the theater, as shown by the lower box office score. Kin was the first full-length feature film by the Baker brothers, which could also explain why their movie struggled. Any decent sci-fi film would be expected to hold a decent spot at box office and have at least some response. and A lack of knowledge on how to properly sell a movie could be to blame.
All in all, Kin could have been a success. However, with the lack of promotional material, and the first big movie by the Baker brothers, Kin struggled. However, Kin still had it’s high points, such as the visuals, coloring, and performances by new actors. For these reasons, Kin receives a 7/10.