Review of Thunderstruck (2012) by Eric L — 05 Sep 2012

Thunderstruck August 24.

Initial Reaction: How does thunder strike something?

Main Characters.

Brian: He's a kid who wants to be a great basketball player. He's played by Taylor Gray.

Kevin Durant: He's that star from the Oklahoma City Thunder playing himself in the film.

Plot Summary.

Brian wants to be one great basketball player, except he doesn't have the skills needed; he's a bad shot, he can't pass and can just barely dribble the ball in the first place.

At a game, he's picked to take the half court shot, and missed badly. When he gets the ball off the ground, he meets up with Kevin Durant.

At that moment he gets Durant's basketball abilities - and Durant gets Kevin's really bad basketball skills.

With the newfound abilities, Brian becomes the star of his high school basketball team - and the biggest thing to happen to that school in a long time.

But the rise to fame comes with a price.

SCORING.

Main Characters.

I like these two. Brian's great as the kid who dreams of being great, but can't be because of lack of skill, and I like the way Kevin Durant has to deal with his sudden slump. SCORE: 9.

Supporting Cast.

Kevin's agent is really good as the guy who wants to salvage his star's year - or even career - after the incident with Brian.

But what I really didn't like was the leading lady in the film, Isabel. She's just there to look pretty and be the unforgiving moral support and love interest to Kevin. SCORE: 5.

Plot.

I like the parts that have to deal with the basketball - the sudden rist to fame and the big ego that comes with the rise. And I also liked how several other former NBA starts get into the film and put some humor into the story.

But the parts that deal with the romantic subplot between Isabel and Kevin - just doesn't work at all in this film. SCORE: 6.

Originality.

This film tries to be unique, but it falls into several predicable paths. First off, I knew how the film's going to end, and how it gets to that conclusion. And I should've guessed how the Kevin/Isabel story was going to work out. SCORE: 4.

Violence Factor.

Not much here - except a mascot gets bean by a basketball, some really bad dunk attempts that you could see in America's Funniest Home Videos. SCORE: 8.

Other Moral Issues.

This film is about how practice and training makes anyone a better player, but it doesn't show how that practice pays off.

And this film also sends the really bad message to girls: if you want a boy to notice you, you have to be the most beautiful girl in the entire school (not just the class, or the room, or the grade level). You have to have the perfect hair, make-up, clothing and figure. If you don't, the boys will ignore you. SCORE: 3.

Final Score (out of 60): 35 % Score: 58.33%.

It could've been a great basketball film, but the romantic subplot ruins it.