 | MOVIE DETAILS • Name: Portal Runner • Year: 2021 • Country: USA • Director: Cornelia Duryée • Main cast: Sloane Morgan Siegel, Elise Eberle, Brian S. Lewis, Carol Roscoe • Runtime: 72 minutes • Production company: Kairos Productions, Terror Films • TRAILER
|
Fantasy and family in the Christmas time hold hands in the film Portal Runner (2021). Although there is more fantasy and action than family drama, which is welcome.
The movie centers on a boy who must jump from different realities through the mirrors in his home running away from a mysterious creature with murderous intentions. Some of those realities are better, some others are worse. Until he lands on one where he has a sister, which he never had before, and the two teens team up to fight the evil entity.
The main problem with Portal Runner (2021) is that the narration is confusing, and some parts of the story are not so easy to be understood. It would have been much better if the quite short running time would have expanded a few more minutes in order to clarify the story a little better. The acting of the two protagonists is acceptable, especially how Elise Eberle brings a strong and multi-layer performance to a simple role as it was the teenage sister. And although never very original, most of the action in the film is hectic and funny enough to raise a laugh.
One aspect that was a nice addition is that the movie is set somewhere in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. That old computer, with the bulky mouse, the Windows 98 system, the AOL messenger, the annoying modem connection that was slow like a snail and disabled the land phone to use… Those evoked good funny memories. Many of the viewers might have all that forgotten, and some of them might not even know what the hell all that was, but it was a nice flashback for those of us who are already around our 40s.
A special mention to the soundtrack of the film, including that grunge hymn “Sweet young thing ain’t sweet no more” by Mudhoney in the opening sequence, the Pixies-like main theme in the closing credits, and the score by BC Smith taking the audience back to the 90s decade, the golden age of indie rock. Perhaps my favorite aspect of the movie, bringing me back to my teenage years. Yeah, reaching to the feeling of nostalgia always works, doesn’t it?
Despite the appearances and the setup, I wouldn’t say Portal Runner (2021) is a kids’ movie. Although at some moments it is too silly for an adult one. A story with good potential but that is developed in a lousy way, and with an entertaining action that gives, as a result, a decent watch. It could have been more but it ends up being a product easy to forget. Still, the entertainment is assured for a little more than one hour.
RATE: 5/10
IMDB URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt7979258
