During the first half of the 1990s, urban struggle became a major theme in African American pop culture. Gangsta rap was becoming more and more popular, and movies about young black men coming of age in neighborhoods populated by street gangs were seeing release seemingly all the time. However, the success of gangsta rap and "hood films" like Boyz N The Hood and Menace II Society were unfortunately seen by some as glorifying the violent gang life that their underlying messages were trying to warn against. Perhaps as a response to this, filmmaker Robert Townsend created The Meteor Man, his attempt at creating a Superman for black audiences. And sadly, it's about as mediocre as you can get.
Meet Jefferson Reed (Townsend), a meek substitute teacher whose Washington, DC, neighborhood is terrorized by the Golden Lords. A drug-dealing gang that uses violence and intimidation to keep control of their turf, their grip on the community is such that they've even started initiating young children into their ranks. Jefferson loathes the Golden Lords, but is just as frightened of them as his neighbors are. He finally works up the courage to stand up to them and try breaking up a mugging, but ends up being chased by them instead.
When he emerges from the dumpster he had hidden in, Jefferson is crushed by a glowing green meteorite as it falls from space. His body is broken and burned seemingly beyond repair, but is somehow fully healed after only a few days. Jefferson quickly discovers that the meteor has bestowed upon him numerous superpowers, among them (but not limited to) enhanced strength and speed, invulnerability, flight, X-ray vision, telekinesis, and the ability to speak to animals. He reveals the development of these powers to his best friend (Eddie Griffin) and his parents (Marla Gibbs and Robert Guillaume), who convince him to use his powers to improve the community.
Donning a costume and assuming the superhero identity of "Meteor Man," Jefferson quickly begins making a difference. He shuts down a crack house, turns a vacant lot into a thriving garden market, and fosters peace between the Bloods and the Crips. But his good deeds put him directly in the crosshairs of the Golden Lords and their leader, the vicious Simon Caine (Roy Fegan), who sees Meteor Man as a threat to their business interests.
It's obvious what Townsend was trying to do with The Meteor Man. Watching it, you get the feeling that he wanted to create something with the message that fearful people could run gangs out of their neighborhoods if only they'd band together and stand up for themselves. But the problem with the movie is that Townsend doesn't seem to know how to handle it. It feels like the movie wants to be both a serious effort and a parody of superheroes. You can't have your cake and eat it too, and it shows with The Meteor Man.
To his credit, I thought Townsend's direction was actually pretty good. It isn't as flashy as you might expect from a superhero story, but Townsend still manages to make the movie an energetic one. The best thing going for Townsend's direction, though, is the cinematography courtesy of John Alonzo. Alonzo's camerawork helps the movie a lot, elevating it above the generic homogenized feel that a lot of similarly-budgeted movies from the time period had. The score composed by Peter Scott also goes a long way, helping establish the tone with a grander scope that one might expect. The songs on the soundtrack aren't really all that good, unfortunately, but not everything can be perfect.
Speaking of things that aren't perfect, let's touch on Townsend's script. It's really one of the bigger flaws of The Meteor Man. As I noted before, Townsend doesn't seem to be able to make up his mind as to whether or not he wants to make a parody of superheroes or a straightforward tale of bettering one's decaying neigborhood. It's too serious to be a comedy, and too funny to be taken seriously. I appreciate what Townsend was aiming for, since the overall message is clear. But the execution is pretty weakly done.
I'm also a little curious about the Golden Lords. What kind of street gang expects to be taken seriously when they all have the same goofy blonde dye jobs and matching uniforms? And are they even really a street gang? They're claiming territory all along the East Coast and their leader answers to an old man played by Frank Gorshin, so maybe they're in league with the Mafia instead? And what kind of gang includes a full army of kindergartners? That's just silly.
But let's move along to the cast, a veritable all-star team of black actors and actresses. Just look at the full cast roster on IMDB, and you'll be surprised at the number of heavy hitters Townsend has assembled for the movie. Townsend himself is in the lead role, and I liked him a lot. He's very engaging, very convincing, and very entertaining. I also felt like he owed a small debt of gratitude to William Katt's role on The Greatest American Hero, since both play teachers who became reluctant superheroes through extraterrestrial means. But that's neither here nor there, really.
As our resident villain du jour, Roy Fegan is sadly forgettable. He doesn't do anything to stand out, coming across like he's the living embodiment of every bad guy cliché out there. And the unfortunate thing is that pretty much the entire cast is forgettable too, even Townsend (despite his good work). There are so many stars in this movie, yet their talents are all wasted. Bill Cosby doesn't even get a single line of dialogue, for crying out loud! The cast situation pretty much sums up the entire movie: all kinds of promise, wasted.
That's the whole problem with The Meteor Man. It has all the potential to be a good movie. I desperately wanted to tell you that it's a great flick, but I can't. It's one of those movies that I want to like but let me down through one fault or another. The Meteor Man is, quite simply, a disappointment. So I'm going to give the movie two stars on the usual scale. I'll only recommend it to people who have to see every superhero movie ever. And for some reason, I'm tempted to track down that Meteor Man comic book that Marvel published after the movie was released. I'm still not sure why, though.
Final Rating: **
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