LIBERATOR — The Review


Liberator PosterThe lifestyle of an aged superhero comes into focus in this short feature film. And it’s through the creative minds behind Liberator that we’re given a rather engaging property that might be original enough to spawn something more than a nineteen minute flick.

What my fellow fanboys and fangirls need to know about this piece is that it does tread familiar ground. We’ve seen classic and newly minted costumed vigilantes face the twilight of their later years in narratives that are often bleak, and in that regard it would be easy for this to feel like repetition. But I was surprised to see how easy the cast and crew got me invested in the odyssey of a previously sponsored government champion.

Aaron Pope directs this introductory feature, and he does a solid job keeping an over the top atmosphere grounded in a somewhat real world setting. The drama is there but there are limitations to how far this can go. Still when viewing the finished product it’s clear that the man at the helm danced a fine line between acceptable and regrettable choices but managed to, as a filmmaker, nail enough of the right material to sell an audience on this particular idea.

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I was floored by Lou Ferrigno who, without a doubt, gave a worthwhile performance as the disgraced but retired superhero, Liberator. The rest of the cast performed their parts admirably with a few standouts along the way. The highlights included a sharp Peta Wilson (Marla Criswell), a commanding Michael Dorn (General Augustus Pollard) and the surprise addition of Edward Asner (President Whitlock). That being said Jessica Jade Andres (Sonya Migliocetti) just didn’t sell me as our hero’s daughter, while the script often lead these actors and actresses toward some overly hammy bits of dialogue.

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Given its budgetary constraints and run-time there are sequences that are just left out of this picture that could have made it a more complete experience. But still what we were given are passable pages of art by Darren Auck, Jesse D’Angelo, Gerry Kissell and Omi Remalante that get their point across. But even with the pumped up music by Timothy Wynn I wanted to see these scenes in motion. But again, this little kickstarter funded project only had so much room to maneuver. In short: it works but it left me wishing they had a bigger pile of cash to plow through their already lofty goals.

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Liberator is an interesting way to spend nineteen minutes of your day. With familiar faces, solid performances, decent action and clear staples of the superhero genre, there’s plenty of worth to be found here. It offers up a solid narrative with a few twists that easily make for a fun adventure romp. If you’re a fan of the man strong enough to be the only human Hulk than this purchase is right up your alley. But be warned: after you spend $2.99 to get this off of iTunes you may find yourself asking for more. Recommended.

OUR RATING
7.5
  • + Turns into a rather solid yarn.
  • + Offers a familiar supporting cast.
  • + Lou Ferrigno rocks it as Liberator.
  • - Carries some overly hammy dialogue...