By Geno McGahee
Most people have that one friend that nobody else sees any good in, always screws them over, but somehow, they maintain the relationship and help when needed. This is explored in DETONATOR, a film that is co-directed by Damon Maulucci and Keir Politz and is OnDemand and on iTunes courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures.
Sully (Lawrence Michael Levine) a former punk band front man has moved away from that life and has settled with his wife and young son. He has a hard time detaching from that dream and has a hard time selling the “detonator”, his amp, which is his connection to that prior existence. His wife, Karen (Dawn L. Hall), hopes that he will become the family man in suburbia, but the streets and clubs of Philadelphia are calling his name, and he answers.
Mick (Benjamin Ellis Fine) enters Sully’s life again, and he has been most problematic. He robbed the band to support his drug habit and the group was never the same. Everyone went their own way. Mick, now living with his father, claims to be clean and ready to reclaim the glory, but he must first pay Dutch (Robert Longstreet) and resolve an old debt. He tells Sully that he has the money and once they pay Dutch, they will get their tape of their session and will finally be back and will become the big deal that they had once hoped.
Unfortunately, the real plan is to rob Dutch of the tape and run, which Mick does. The duo is now running for their lives and imploding. Mick is a total wreck and Sully doesn’t want to lose what he has at home. He has many inner conflicts that are shown quite well in this. As I watched Sully and Mick, I was really reminded of ROUNDERS with Ed Norton and Matt Damon. I wouldn’t rank Michael Levine and Ellis Fine in the same group as those two, but they do a great job here and they are very believable.
In the end, Sully has to make some tough decisions and decide what his priorities truly are. He has to do the right thing and that involves a lot of compromise.
DETONATOR is very slow-moving initially, but it picks up and once Sully and Mick are on the run, it gets very interesting. It is shot very well and has a really nice look to it. In the end, if you can get beyond the first 25 minutes, this film really gets moving and is enjoyable. Considering how most people have that really messed up friend, this flick should be relatable. It made me think of some of my old buddies and their antics. I recommend it. It’s a decent watch.
Rating: 6/10
