Kin

The film opens in the deteriorating city of Detroit, with young Eli (Myles Truitt) getting in trouble at school and his hard-working/blue collar father Hal (Dennis Quaid) unable to pick him up. Eli spends his time scavenging condemned and abandoned buildings for scrap metal to sell to make ends meet, one day stumbling upon the remnants of an intense battle, with bodies littering the floor. Also catching his attention is a rectangular object, very light and changing shape into a weapon when he picks it up. Admiring this weird and really cool piece of technology, one of the bodies suddenly grabs him, causing him to drop the weapon and flee the scene back home. While at dinner, his father tells him that his brother Jimmy (Jack Reynor) has been released from prison, who soon shows up at their door. Eli senses the tension between Hal and Jimmy, as his request for employment at his construction site is rejected by his father. That night, Eli can’t stop thinking about the weapon he left, and sneaks out of the house to get it. Meanwhile, Jimmy visits Taylor (James Franco), a local criminal who sold protection for Jimmy in prison and finds out he owes him $60,000.00 for his services. With nowhere else to turn, he decides to rob the safe in his father’s office for the money. Back at home, Eli is confronted by his father holding a box of scrap metal, explaining that someone owns the buildings he’s stealing out of. Determined to teach him a lesson by calling his clients and confessing, Eli and his father head to his office to retrieve the phone numbers. Walking in on Jimmy with Taylor and his goons, Hal refuses to back down and is shot. In the scuffle, Jimmy wrestles the gun from Taylor, shooting Taylor’s brother and killing him. Jimmy grabs the money and runs to the truck where Eli is waiting, makes up a story about his father being too busy to take him home and wants them to take a trip together, and runs off. With Jimmy on the run from Taylor and Eli carrying the futuristic weapon in his bag, these two adopted brothers go on a sort of coming-of-age road trip that will force them both to come clean and ultimately get to know one another, as they are all each other has.

Kin is a very unique story that is a blend of science fiction and a coming-of-age, fugitive, family in conflict type of story, with the science fiction taking a back seat throughout the majority of the film. Such a story is full of surprises, with the main mystery being the origin of the gun and how it works. Much to my dismay, reading the official synopsis on the back of the case gives away MAJOR plot details that I thought were the most interesting parts of the story: Is this an alien gun? Something from the future? Or something else entirely? Thanks to the author of the synopsis, that question is immediately answered, instead of waiting until the last few minutes of the film. So, if you’re reading this and decide to pick up this set, do yourselves a favor and do not read it! It also gives away another major plot point that could point to a sequel given the possibility, so just try to avoid it at all costs. In terms of the writing, the characters, and the heart of the story, those plot points may not be as important in the eyes of some. However, to me, the science fiction aspect of the story only adds to the journey and makes it even more interesting.

In regards to the science fiction of the film, it’s really impressive. We are witness to several different types of technology beyond our imagination, and with each new sequence even more impressive than the last. Coming up with new types of technology that we haven’t seen before in film or other mediums is increasingly hard, and although most of it you may have seen in some form or another, it’s handled very well.

I was also very surprised with Myles Truitt, carrying a large portion of the load of the film on his shoulders and handling it very well. James Franco, Zoë Kravitz and Dennis Quaid are also good supporting actors which add a lot of depth to the story. What I wasn’t too impressed with was Jack Reynor. His character played way too much like a Chris Pratt impersonator in my opinion, and even though his brotherly adventure to get to know Eli was a guise to run away from a dangerous criminal whose brother he killed and robbed his father’s business of 60k, the journey was worth it in the end for Eli. For Jimmy, it doesn’t seem like he learned a lesson, showed any signs of self-guilt about what happened to his father, and doesn’t seem to mind undoing all the life-lessons Hal has taught Eli. Thankfully, Eli demonstrates that he took them to heart and won’t be swayed to a life of crime after his brother basically forced him to rob a high stakes game of poker.

Video

Kin is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.39:1. This transfer looks good, with no defects noticed. The film is rather dark most of the time, and the contrasting lights of the gun, some of the neon lights of certain scenes, all highlight these differences in the palate beautifully. There is a graininess maintained throughout the film that definitely gives it a more visceral look, and with the gritty, downtrodden setting of low-income Detroit, this was a wonderful choice visually to help visualize the story.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS:X and the track sounds phenomenal. With an amazing balance between all the surrounds, you’re going to get some powerful sound coming from the explosions, the gun-fire and all the action scenes, with equally as impressive dialogue in the character building scenes.

Special Features

Some great extras on this disc that will please fans of the film and give some informative looks at the story and filmmaking process.

• Deleted Scenes
• Bag Man: Original Short
• “Learned Behavior: Special Features at Work” Featurette
• Thicker Than Water: The Making of Kin (8-Part Documentary)
• Enhanced Visual FX Breakdowns
• Theatrical Trailer
• Audio Commentary with Co-Directors Jonathan and Josh Baker and Screenwriter Daniel Casey

Although the story has some flaws, the combination of the different genres makes this a very unique film that is still very entertaining from start to finish, satisfying fans of both science fiction and drama alike.