Comic legend Stan Lee has produced a series of direct-to-DVD superhero adventures and this is the latest. Stan decides to create a Latin American hero, but the results seem to be drawn from several other superheroes.
Tony Valdez (Wilmer Valderrama) is a skateboarding aficionado and the show begins with him competing in a tournament. George (John Novak) and Maria (Maria Conchita Valdez) Valdez are Tony’s parents and they happen to own a robotics corporation. We see that there’s a mysterious figure that is using some sort of control device to commit robberies and the poor zombie victims usually have their hearts burst due to the speeding up of their bodies by the control device.
Tony’s father discovers that someone is using their developmental nanotechnology for nefarious purposes. The villains run Tony’s parents car off the road to protect the real identity of the culprits. Tony is called anonymously and told of the accident. When he gets to the scene he is attacked by two of the zombies and is beaten to a pulp with their skateboards. His legs are badly damaged and he’s told that he may never walk again (or skate again).
His pal Sammi (Kathleen Barr) just happens to be well versed in the experimental nanotechnology and creates a pair of braces that use the technology and a souped up skateboard to give Tony the mobility he craves again. He takes up his board to avenge his parents’ death and keep the technology from falling into terrorist hands.
First off, it shouldn’t take long for the villains to know Tony’s secret identity since both he and the Condor have the same braces on - think about Clark Kent’s glasses. I’m not Latin American and hope I don’t sound like a racist, but the main voice cast sound like I would think stereotypes of Latin American characters would talk. The origin of the Condor smacks a little too much like Batman for my tastes.
It seems a bit of a stretch to think that Tony’s parents just happen to own a robotics factory, a little too convenient to the story. Sammi is a bit of a Doogie Howser when it comes to the technology and decides to whip up the stuff to make Tony walk again. Tony then uses it without much thought to possible side effects. Tony seems to don the superheroes garb just a bit too quickly. I guess this couldn’t be helped since they’ve only got 74 minutes to fit all this in.
Tony doesn’t seem like much of a likeable character and most of the time he’s a spoiled skateboarding brat. He then decides to take on the mantle of “El Condor” (complete with superhero costume) without much explanation in my opinion. Darn it though, Stan Lee is such a likeable fellow in the special features that you hate to knock it too bad.
The Condor is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a 1 minute introduction by Stan Lee. Next is the 12 minute “Meeting of the Giants: Stan Lee vs. Wilmer Valderrama: the making of Condor.” It has interviews with Lee, director Steven E. Gordon, and Valderrama. There’s also a skateboarding DVD game, a character gallery (with comments by Lee), and a still gallery. The DVD case contains a comic book for Lee’s other direct-to-DVD creation Mosaic.
I hate to say it since Stan Lee’s such a swell guy, but I didn’t think too much of this skateboarding superhero. It was okay, but it harkened back to other stories (think: Batman) and it seemed that Tony Valdez didn’t seem like such a likable fellow and didn’t seem to have an overpowering drive to become a superhero. It’s entertaining enough for 74 minutes.
Stan Lee Presents - The Condor is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a May 21st release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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