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★★★★★
Directed by: #JeremyDubin #RyanLewis
Written by: #RyanLewis
Starring: #JackKruse #CarlosDellyJones #AdahMcGrathMohser #FrancescaKong #BaylenSofranecSmith #JustinMcCombs
Short Film Review by: #ChrisBuick
How do you capture the exuberance of youth, show off an incredible passion for filmmaking and deliver a gleefully fun and energetic example of tight storytelling in just two rip-roaring minutes? Just ask the brains behind brilliant comedy short Strike Team Justice, they seem to have the answer.
Written by Ryan Lewis and created with his co-director Jeremy Dubin, this delightfully inspiring short film sees young Jimmy (Kruse), alone in his Palace of Isolation (a tent in his attic), pitching his idea for the ultimate superhero movie to his friend, a movie they themselves will make with the help of their friends and one that will change everything. Thieves Ben (Delly Jones) and Emily (McGrath Mohser) are recruited to Strike Team Justice to become superheroes Night Thief and Earworm tasked with saving the world from the deadly Silverfish (Kong).
OK, maybe it won’t change everything. But it sounds pretty damn good to me.
Over the course of the film’s incredibly tight two-minute runtime, we cut back and forth between Jimmy’s big pitch to the filming of the epic battle itself. Foil shields, homemade costumes, creative camerawork and good old-fashioned ingenuity are all present in a beautiful homage to do-it-yourself filmmaking that might just remind a few filmmakers just why they got into the business in the first place.
With only two minutes to strut its stuff, Strike Team Justice keeps things simple and wastes no time in grabbing your full attention, putting its pedal to the metal from the very first second and pulling you full speed along with it, every second of the way brimming with an inescapable infectious charm that seeps into your very soul, before ending with a spot-on footnote that will awaken the inner child in all of us. It’s funny. It’s sweet. It’s entertaining. It’s inspirational. It’s over too soon!
The kids, each of who's performances echo everything already said about the heart and soul of this project, all look like they’re having the absolute time of their life to the point we want to jump through the screen and join them. It’s lit spectacularly, framed wonderfully and the emphatic score could not be more on point. Basically, it’s a triumph. And I want more.
At the end our protagonist "really thinks they can make this movie” and if there is any justice, they will. Strike Team Justice is a wonderfully endearing snapshot of youthful whimsy and artistic expression that will not fail to put a huge smile on your face. Whether or not there is more in store from the Strike Team Justice Cinematic Universe remains to be seen. But if there is, they've sold at least one ticket already for sure.
Watch the trailer for Strike Team Justice here:
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