The Meteor Man (1993)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Robert Townsend

Writer (WGA):

Robert Townsend (written by)

Release Date:

6 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Comedy

Tagline:

He's coming to save the world, one neighborhood at a time.

Plot:

One night Jefferson Reed gets hit in the chest by a souped-up chunk of meteor. So he can fly, but he's scared of heights...

Plot Keywords:

Spoof | Acrophobia | Superhero | Healing | Telekinesis

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Robert Townsend	...	Jefferson Reed
Marla Gibbs	...	Mrs. Reed, Jeff's Mother
Eddie Griffin	...	Michael
Robert Guillaume	...	Ted Reed, Jeff's Father
James Earl Jones	...	Earnest Moses
Roy Fegan	...	Simon, Golden Lord Chief
Cynthia Belgrave	...	Mrs. Harris
Marilyn Coleman	...	Mrs. Walker, Reed's Landlady
Don Cheadle	...	Goldilocks
Bobby McGee	...	Uzi, Golden Lord Gunman
Bill Cosby	...	Marvin
Big Daddy Kane	...	Pirate
Frank Gorshin	...	Byers the Mobster
Sinbad	...	Malik, Stacy's Boyfriend
Nancy Wilson	...	Mrs. Laws the Principal

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Iceland:12 | Iceland:L (video rating) | Germany:12 | UK:PG (cut) | USA:PG-13 (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating after appeal) | Canada:PG | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The original ending had a more confident Jeff standing up for himself and his community and using his role as a teacher to better everyone's life. He then gets approached by Michael who tells him that an even bigger piece of the meteor that hit him was found in Arizona. The two then agree to buy plane tickets so that Jeff can get his powers back and once again become Meteor Man. This is followed by Michael trying to talk him into letting him get some power from the meteor so he can be his sidekick. It then ends with Michael throwing out names to him, such as Comet Boy, Chocolate Thunder, and the Flying Wonder.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Superman (1978)

Soundtrack:

I SAY A PRAYER

Not a bad film, but I think I know what's wrong.

There's no plot.

There's a fine story about a man gaining superpowers to clean up the neighborhood, but his adventures seem rather random. His adversaries also seem to lack a larger plan. The combination of the two makes for a fairly decent film that lacks a couple of key elements to make it an increbidly good film.

The comedy is good, as is the overall story. The acting is also top notch, as the characters portrayed are fun and enjoyable (I'm at a real loss to understand why other reviewers panned the acting ... possibly because they don't understand what it is they didn't like about the movie). But again the characters seem to lack a plan for their actions.

The gags in the film are exceptional, as is the case with the supermajority of Townsend's material. However a dash more comedy could've served this film as the jokes are more sporatic than constant. Not a whole lot more but a few more comic bits and comical characters could've really helped the film, because, like I said, the film bounces between a light hearted adventured and comedy. And I think this too probably confounded the people who didn't like the film.

The one thing I liked a great deal was seeing a lot of familiar actors one normally doesn't see. Read that as "black actors." Regrettably it takes a man like Townsend to bring a black cast to life. And I suppose on one plane that is as it should be; for who better to bring to life a tale of a Black/African-American/person-of-color superhero than a Black/African-American/person-of-color writer-director-actor?

An enjoyable film that strives for an A, but just misses its mark. It's definately worth seeing, and is very enjoyable, but if you come away somewhat empty understand that it's essentially a one man show where the writing is concerned.

A note to Townsend; make a sequel. This film deserves one, but bring in other writers to help you out with the script. A few more gags/jokes, and more plot, and you have yourself one fine film.