A-Train: New Beginnings

A short superhero dark comedy fan film set in the world of the satirical superhero television series The Boys. Written and directed by Chris Carthern, the film stars himself as the titular character and including in the cast are Salem Way, Mina Kess, Joey G and Boaz Hernandez.

So what is the plot then? Well, the heroes (the members of a team of superheroes named The Seven) do not go up against a supervillain, instead the attention is focused on speedster A-Train. Super-fast A-Train has accidentally killed a woman while running and this results in him being thrown out of the super team. Things are not looking good for A-Train, however he develops a new ambition: he will become a famous rapper.

This short has a lot of things going for it. To begin, the costumes, the ones worn by the performers portraying the superheroes look cool and resemble the ones in the TV show, some examples being clothing worn by A-Train (of course, since his name is in the title), Homelander and Starlight. Next, there are some pretty neat (although not very realistic) effects, particularly when the heroes utilise their superpowers, making eyes glow and beams of light come out of eyes and causing body parts to explode. As A-Train is determined to become a rapper, he collaborates with a music studio and a large portion of the film consists of music videos of him singing. The videos look great thanks to the directing and Chong Ahn's work on the editing and cinematography and fans of rap will most likely appreciate the amusing songs that include titles such as Mr. Run Through Ya Girlfriend, Get Out The Way and Speedster Rap. The animated part is also quite a bonus.

Is there anything missing? Could something had been done better? This short is approximately 20 minutes of entertainment and it never seizes to be so thanks to the music, the performances and dark humour. Taking all these under consideration, one could not have asked for much more.

Looking at the performances now, they are quite entertaining. This short is intended to be a comedy and the acting by pretty much all the cast is light-hearted. Some who stand out are obviously Carthern as the main character, a clumsy superhero and aspiring rapper and Way as Homelander, the no-nonsense and sarcastic leader of the superhero team.

On the surface, this is superhero comedy. Looking deeper, (and as the title suggests) the story explores the idea of starting over, turning one's life around and pursuing new goals. Furthermore, it is also a commentary about the music industry (the world of rap in particular), social media, self-discovery and the idea of becoming a celebrity.

This amusing short is ideal for people looking for a fun time. It pays homage to The Boys series and superhero films in general and it will most likely appeal primarily to fans of the series, superhero fans and rap fans.