Boy Wonder

Plot synopsis:
A young boy named Sean Donovan lives with his mother and abusive alcoholic father. A carjacker attacks his family one night, which results in his mother's murder. Afterward, his father Terry moves them to a nicer neighborhood.
Years later, Sean is an excellent student but has become unsocial, and he sees abuse in everyday arguments. He trains as a boxer and carries weapons at night as a vigilante. He kills an assaulter in an attempted mugging, and an eyewitness account garners the attention of Teresa Ames, who had recently been promoted to the homicide division of the NYPD. She investigates Sean, who frequents the police station as he searches for information on his mother's killer. Teresa befriends him and learns about his life, such as the fact that he speaks fluent Chinese after he angrily berates rude staff in a Chinese restaurant. Sean defends a young woman being violently abused by her pimp and strikes him with a baton before shooting him.
While riding the train, Sean encounters a homeless man verbally harassing a Chinese family and the passengers of the train. He tells the family to leave the car before putting on face paint and brutally beating the man with brass knuckles. Teresa and her partner, who happen to be on the train, investigate, but Sean eludes them. Learning that the perpetrator spoke fluent Chinese, she suspects Sean. Despite her supervisor's warning not to investigate Sean, she persists. Finally, the retired supervisor tells Teresa that the young Sean was able to clearly identify his mother's murderer from a photo book, but Terry convinced him to withdraw his statement. The murderer's identity is identified as Larry Childs, a contract killer whom Teresa arrested six months ago but managed to get a two-year sentence through a plea bargain.
As Sean walks down the street, he sees scenes of domestic violence that apparently revert to gentle arguments after he passes by. During a school party, Sean has an episodic memory recall where he remembers his mother's murderer call his father by his old boxing nickname. Enraged by the memory, he savagely beats a fellow student who has been harassing a female friend. Teresa finds a picture of Terry and the murderer and realizes that they knew each other before the attack. Sean assumes that Terry staged the attack in order to get his mother's life insurance money. Sean confronts his father, but Terry adamantly denies this. Convinced of his father's guilt, Sean shoots and kills Terry. Teresa tracks down Sean, who states someone broke into their home and killed his father, and she disposes of the murder weapon.
Sometime later, Sean sends a letter to Larry, who is currently serving his two-year sentence. In the letter Sean expresses his forgiveness to Larry but pleads with him to reveal the truth of his mother's murder: was his father involved? He puts an empty envelope, a red stamp, and a black stamp together with the letter, and asks Larry to reply to him with a black stamp for his father's guilt or a red stamp for his father's innocence. The stamp Larry uses is poisoned with Tricelaron and kills him. When the letter arrives, Sean stares at the red stamp on it.

Tags: violence

Review:
I went to screening of Boy Wonder and was expecting nothing good.
I was really surprised, this film is shot beautifully and they got some great performances, the kid playing Sean, Caleb something, was great.
This is not really an action movie but there are some great fight scenes.
I must admit: I'm a huge fan of thrillersthe only problem is I'm often disappointed by the weak story plots and cliché endings that plague most of the new suspense films that are being dished out by Hollywood fools lately.
For an indie film, I was pretty surprised by the writing and acting.
Not sure whether or not this is going straight to DVD or if it will stay in the festival circuit for awhile, but if you have the opportunity to see Boy Wonder, you won't be disappointed..
I stumbled upon the Boy Wonder booth and realized that I was going not only get to see the movie again but that I could give my friends the pleasure of seeing it as well.
I've been waiting for someone to do a film like this for a long time..one that stays true to what comic books are really about.
While I didn't get into Teresa Ames too much the character of Sean blew me away even the second time around.
This movie is legit and not legit like Hollywood put a bunch of money into something and marketed the hell out of it..its legit like had a low budget made a good looking film and has quality story and characters.
Anyway I usually don't take the time to write reviews but when a good indie film comes around and I think people should know about it...I give up some of my time for the cause..
During the night, Sean secretly is a vigilante, seeking out brutal criminals based on the police files to eliminate them.
The efficient police lieutenant Teresa Ames (Zulay Henao) has been just promoted after capturing the notorious gangster Larry Childs (James Russo) and transferred to work in the Homicide Department in the precinct where Sean uses to go.
But when she notes that Sean was searching in the computer of the police department the pimp that was murdered, she suspects that the troubled teenager might be the vigilante that is killing in New York City.
The unknown "Wonder Boy" is a dramatic thriller with a complex and well developed story of revenge.
The characters are perfectly developed and Caleb Steinmeyer and Zulay Henao have great performances.
It's no surprise Boy Wonder won Best Editing at the Rhode Island Film Festival.
And while every film at the fest is most definitely a hit or miss, I can honestly say I haven't seen such a stellar film as this fest in a long time as good as Boy Wonder.
If you enjoy revenge films then this is perfect for you.The acting is very good and the editing was fantastic and clearly done very carefully.I don't like telling people too much when i recommend a film as this dents the experience but rest assured you won't know what direction this film will take you.
Good movie with a great plot but could have been executed better..
This is a good movie with a solid plot but I can't help but feel that it could have been so much more.
I looked to see how far through the movie I was and was surprised that it was almost over when it really hadn't built up any climax for the ending.
It's a cool, gritty movie and certainly worth the watch but there wasn't much of a progressive story and the timing seemed a little undesirable.
The acting was pretty good, the action scenes were exciting but didn't last long.
Overall I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10, it's above average but not exactly on the end of your seat thrilling or something you'd want to watch over and over again..
The film is about a young boy from Brooklyn witnessing the murder of his mother and becoming obsessed with finding her killer.
So let's start with the cast, a group of talented, relatively unknown actors.The lead character 'Sean Donovan' is played by Caleb Steinmeyer who you might of glimpsed as a young John Locke in an episode from the Lost TV series.
The other main character 'Terry Donovan', Sean's father, is played by Bill Sage.Before watching this film I actually checked out the review on IMDb and the low 6.6 stars that it is rated do not do the film justice at all.
The film starts 10 years after Sean witnesses his mother being gunned down in what appears to be a simple car jacking.
As the film progresses Detective Teresa Ames takes an interest in Sean and finds out that her latest high profile case is linked with the death of his Mother.
This movie plays like the best dark graphic novel and surprises the viewer in all of the best ways.
And as in 'Limitless' we are enchanted by a young man who sums intellectual and physical qualities as if he were a better product of evolution than the basic human being.Noticeably the present movie has been released earlier than the two above mentioned titles (Prisoners has been released in 2013 and Limitless in 2011): Alan Glynn's novel (on which 'Limitless' was based) was published in 2001 but it was markedly different from movie's screenplay.'Boy Wonder' is interesting and very well shot (it was the first movie from Michael Morrissey, who wrote and directed it).
I was somewhat put off by some of the things i saw but I did see "Boy Wonder" and was pretty impressed.
Even if you aren't into deep characters and thinking; this movie is entertaining enough when you just see the fight scenes and the comedic timing of the two detectives.
And in the end, you will have lots of thoughts flowing through your mind.Caleb Steinmeyer, playing Sean, who has witnessed his mother getting killed at a young age of 9, does a great job acting.
He truly is an upcoming star.I watched this movie with low expectations, but i came out very impressed.I am sure you will like it as well..
The movie was surprisingly entertaining and had a good plot and characters in it.
The acting of Zulay Henao was the only low-point in the movie..it was so bad I was cringing every time she uttered another flat line.
With Boy Wonder's many hits and regardless of its very few misses the movie perfectly presents the internal world of someone that chooses to put on the persona of a hero.
That scene and the whole Boy Wonder movie has affected the way I think about my favorite super-heroes: Spider-man and Batman (especially their origins).
We wanted a simple, cotton candy Punisher-esque movie and ended up with a Donnie Darko Lite meets Lucky Number Sleven, except it wasn't funny at all and because the film was only 93 minutes long, the story and characters were a bit thin.
Etc. That's common in a run-of-the-mill thriller, so we expected that, but we always keep our hopes up that one of these types of movies will surprise us with fantastic characters like the relentless Creasy in Man on Fire or the black hearted but penitent Will Munny in Unforgiven..
Single mom Teresa Ames is the aggressive new detective at the division.Sean is Deathwish Jr. I want the movie to concentrate harder on that.
The movie throws in a few clever red herrings which gets you guessing what might be happening, but then after a twist you realise that you thought wrong, as the director would have wanted us to of course.
I just loved this movie and the cinematography & editing was very clean looking with clean cuts just running with the story.
This is a very interesting lower-budget production portraying the life a late teenage boy, Sean, as he struggles to deal with things we cannot understand about his past.
A most pleasant surprise of this small-production movie is that the supporting cast performs a surprisingly good job.
'Boy Wonder' is definitively a recommended movie: complex, imaginative and requiring viewer engagement to be understood and fully enjoyed..
I actually didn't think Hollywood made movies this good any more but was pleasantly surprised.
Even with the ridiculously bad acting of Zulay Heneo and some serious detail misses e.g. The cup and saucer grip of a supposedly experienced police officer, this movie is written so well and makes a solid statement.
watch a lot films did not know much about this one thought story was well told good action great acting from lead Sean (Caleb Steinmeyer) held together well even thou you understood the plot good feeling that he got his revenge now that's justice Watch it if you can don't think you will be disappointed Good interaction between characters keeps the story interesting some scenes could be classed as disturbing but was all in context One could question the morals after killing his dad, the killer and Teresa Ames the female cop disposing of the weapon but that,s the whole point makes you question what would you do its raises more questions than answers but main thing just enjoy great entertainment..
Steinmeyer is solid and pretty realistic as the driven and confused protagonist while Bill Sage is effective as his conflicted and multi-dimensional father; however, the real driving force behind this film is the plot.
Rather than falling into general climactic and ending sequences, Boy Wonder provides a twisted plot while remaining clear in the minds of viewers.
OK, I really wanted to like this movie but I can't help but comment on the terrible, and I mean terrible directing.The actors weren't too bad, especially the lead Caleb Steinmeyer and the extremely hot Zulay Henao.
In truth, the dialog was as calamitous to the entire production as the aforementioned direction thus the story could have been told so very much better.The cardinal sin in producing good movies is (as everyone knows) having your viewers pay more attention in its making than its content.During this entire "film" I feel like I am looking at an old episode of Miami Vice to be honest.
I doubt they had good direction.This film played with themes that have been done so much better before.
Pretty good take on the vigilante genre but not for everyone.The movie doesn't give you all the answers and it can be confusing at times, especially when the flashback scenes starts coming from nowhere.Those scenes does not in any way, shape or form look any different from any of the present time scenes, so where as most movies would add a filter or make the flashbacks black and white this movie does not.The backdrop of the main character reminded me of Peter Parker/Spiderman and it has a slight comic book feel to it (and the name alone hints of that) but it's very far from a buttkicking superhero flick so don't expect it to be that too much.In tone (and some events) it's more reminiscent of the Jodie Foster movie 'THE BRAVE ONE (2007)' but I find this movie to be slightly more entertaining than that tbh.The acting is good enough, feels like it might have been slightly rushed while filming (due to budget reasons mainly) though but yeah overall a pretty solid independent drama-thriller that's worth watching..
Sean (Caleb Steinmeyer) witnessed the murder of his mother by a carjacker when he was a kid and, now a high school student, he obsesses about it.
His early trauma has produced in him an anger that surfaces in acts of vigilantism against perpetrators of abuse and cruelty.This movie is pretty much carried by Steinmeyer who in most respects appears as quiet and studious, but he skillfully gives evidence to Sean's underlying hostility.
The conflict between father and son is well played.While Sean's background and response to it resemble Batman's, the movie is played pretty straight.
I was intrigued by the character Sean and Teresa added another dimension to the story.
I don't think I've ever heard of any of the actors but the acting was of a high standard even during the highly intense fight scenes and arguments.
The tension builds throughout the film and the ending is certainly memorable with a great twist executed to perfection.
The Great thing about this movie is that it brings the "superhero vigilante" genre down to earth without sacrificing what makes those stories great in the first place.The focus isn't on action, but the violence we do see is well done.the acting is what got me.The main character,Sean,is intense in his central role , slowly growing more paranoid and violent as the story moves along but you can't help but root for him until the end.the supporting cast is good,too, adding to the realistic vibe permeating the film.I love comic books and this movie,I believe,truly bridges the gap between fantasies drawn into squares and gritty revenge flicks..
It was WAY better than anything that would have been!At first it was a bit hard to know what was going on (but that was probably me more than the movie!
As often happens in such plots, along the way, Sean (the boy) runs into other low-life characters who like to throw their weight about on women and, since he's right on the spot, he deals with them - in no uncertain terms!Quiet as Sean may be, he has spent a lot of time working on self- discipline and martial arts and fitness and so he is a lot more effective that one might, at first, expect.
And, with a bit more experience, Caleb Steinmeyer (Sean) could easily become a big name star in the Bruce Willis-type roles.Not a blockbuster by any means, Boy Wonder was an enjoyable way to spend a dreary winter afternoon..
The character development of and the internal turmoil within Sean (the Boy Wonder) are amazing.
Add to this use of shadows that Hitchcock would have killed for if he could make films in color and a few plots that you do not even know are interwoven until towards the end, and you've got a solid flick.
Caleb Steinmeyer who had no movie experience, just a few parts in TV series, carried himself very well; he was convincing in his role as Sean Donovan.
Again, Morrissey deserves praise for directing; the movie feels like a serious budget project but I'm sure it wasn't.
Sean is a complex character, but the movie makes us discover the real Sean with a very smart and methodical approach.
You will remember this movie for a long time and many other movies will from now on be using 'Boy Wonder' as a benchmark.
I see good things happening for Morrissey's career, unless he becomes a one hit wonder; I look forward to another fantastic story by him.
Boy Wonder begins with young Sean (Jake Randazzo) and his mother chatting together on a bench.
The film then abruptly changes pace and the next scene shows his mother Mary Donovan (Tracy Middendorf) being killed in front of young Sean's eyes as a result of a car jacking.
The film then abruptly cuts to Sean being a teenager.This was a problem for me as I felt that all this happened far too quickly.
I've brought up some negatives to Boy Wonder, but it also has a lot of good points; for a start, it is compelling viewing and is never boring.
I was also particularly impressed with the ending of the film and thought that it was really clever.
It's thought provoking and will certainly make you 'think before you act'.Despite my reservations, I still enjoyed Boy Wonder and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of vigilante films.
I watched Boy Wonder knowing absolutely nothing about the movie other than the brief description Netflix provides.
All we know is Sean is a nerdy outcast, saw his mother killed when he was a boy, and trains in a boxing gym.It's not until 45 minutes into the movie before we're given a clue Sean's worldview might not reflect reality.
Viewers aren't given any clues to the answer.The key to movies with a good twist is to set up the story in a way that leads viewers to believe they understand the worldview presented in the film, then reveal information that invalidates that worldview but allows the entire film to be interpreted through a different worldview.
(i.e. Mulholland Drive, Primer, etc.) While I admit the ending surprised me, Boy Wonder didn't present a cohesive enough story early on in the movie for me to establish an original worldview.
Furthermore, after the reveal at the end of the movie many of the character's actions still don't make sense.Why is Sean seeking out these criminals?
His indecisiveness makes it hard for viewers to understand why he is doing these things.The crux of the movie rests on the question of whether or not Sean's father paid Larry Childs to kill his mother.
Viewers don't really know if he did or didn't--neither explanation holds up very well in light of all the other actions taken in the movie.Sean believes his father did, based on what he heard outside the car that night.
If that's true then Sean made a mistake killing his father.
This movie, "Boy Wonder", has a similar allure.
The boy is in high school, but spends a good bit of after-school time at the police station, looking online at photos, ostensibly to identify the man who killed his mom in their car one day when he was about 8.The actor who plays the boy, Caleb Steinmeyer as Sean Donovan, is interesting in his own right.
Sean gets the one with the red stamp, meaning "No, your dad was not part of your mother's murder plot." But Sean had already killed his father, certain that he had been responsible.
Sean was now firmly on the "dark side" as the movie ends.