There are films that seem to come out of nowhere. For some reason, they are not promoted and are put into theaters with no build up.

Sometimes that adds a mysterious quality to the movie. But for the most part, it is because the studio did not want to waste money on a terrible film.

“23 Blast” (Rated PG-13; 98 min) is a perfect example of the second option.

Advertisement

“Blast” is a sports drama directed by Dylan Baker and stars Stephen Lang, Mark Hapka, Bram Hoover and Max Adler.

Since childhood, everyone has told Travis Freeman how great he was going to be. Freeman and his best friend Jerry Baker were destined to be the saviors of their high school football team and lead them to the state championship game. There was no other option.

Freeman is suddenly hit with incurable blindness. It devastates him and brings his high school football career to a screeching halt. Soon he realizes that he has a choice to make. He can either continue doing what he loves or try to lead a normal life without football.

Dylan Baker is a terrific character actor. He has acted in more than 100 films and television shows and brings something special to each role.

That being said, whatever talent he brings as an actor seems to be nonexistent as a director.

It is hard to completely blame him for this lackluster movie. Baker is not a household name. Only dedicated film fanatics will know his name as oppose to calling him “the guy from those Spider-Man movies.” It is evident he did not have his pick of the litter.

His directing is a major flaw of this movie.

Advertisement*

Any footage of football actually being played in this movie is horrendous. It might be the worst shooting of a fictional football game in the history of fictional football games. It is beyond unrealistic. It is like whoever shot it had never watched football before.

All of the game filming was slow and leisurely. It was like the actors had taken a practice run at each play and Baker decided that was good enough. Football is a fast paced sport where things happen in a blink of an eye. If you try and film football any other way without good intention, you are misrepresenting it.

The best aspect of this movie is the friendship between Freeman and Baker. Freeman and Baker’s almost brotherly-like relationship is the strongest relationship in the movie and helps both of their character moments.

This movie decides to rarely focus on either of those things and instead focus on the joke that is Freeman’s parents. One half ripped off of the mom from “The Blind Side” and the other half never really being defined at all. Their antics, which are supposed to be the driving humor of the film, land flat.

The chemistry between Hapka and Hoover is the diamond in the rough.

The two bring some genuine humor and conflict to not only the friendship, but the movie in general. Any scene involving the two keeps you interested and wondering where the characters will go from here. Not that they go much of anywhere.

Do not see this film. The movie only played in around 600 theaters. That being said, if you are unlucky to be in area where this plays, avoid it at all costs.