The story’s themes revolve around music as the catalyst for reuniting friends and inspiring long lost creativity. Music also plays a driving force in reviving and resurrecting a dying mining community located somewhere over the flyover states. Life for the artist is hardly worth living if you’re not following your dreams.
If any of this sounds appealing to you, stop reading this review and check out Killian & The Comeback Kids. Message aside, I’ve got to be honest about the film as…a film. To me, the final product had too many problems and missed opportunities to get an enthusiastic recommendation. On the positive side, what I like was the character of Killian himself. I appreciated his arch as a young man so consumed with fulfilling his dreams that he either uses his friends to get there, or he casts them aside when he has no use for them. Don’t get me wrong; he’s not a monster by any means. The character is nuanced in that he’s a very likable person with a misplaced priority on maintaining friendships. Even in the end, he doesn’t necessarily learn his lessons completely. It’s Killian’s personal journey that threads together the songs and sub-plots.
“…has its heart and passions in the right place. There should be more movies with a positive message.”
Music plays a big part in the film. While good, I wish the music were better, as it’s not exactly memorable. I also wish there was more depth and variety to the music and lyrics itself. They just fell flat to me. (see The Magic Music Movie for excellent folk music). It’s tough to make a film with original music because the stakes are high as songs have to be good enough to carry a movie.
There are a few technical issues. It looked like a lot of the music was filmed and recorded live. There is an expectation that songs in the film are recorded as close to perfect as possible. There are a few moments when Killian’s guitar was slightly out of tune, and some of the singing was “pitchy,” and I don’t think it was intentional for story reasons. Those tiny flaws should have been corrected, and fortunately, happens only a few times.
Killian & The Comeback Kids has its heart and passions in the right place. There should be more movies with a positive message. Though I loved its upbeat tone and its story’s general vibe, I don’t think I would see it more than once. Filmmaker/composer Taylor A. Purdee has a lot of talent, and Killian & The Comeback Kids is a good first step.
"…positivity abounds and overflows..."
