In
the third (my personal favorite) episode of the new 2020 revival of Steven
Spielberg’s beloved science-fiction television series Amazing Stories, we undoubtedly get the new Apple TV+ iteration’s
most entertaining and enjoyable offering yet.
Prominently featuring a central lead performance from the great late
actor Robert Forster, a sneaky homage to Byron Haskin’s The War of the Worlds and a fresh spin on the superhero origins
myth, this is where Amazing Stories 2020 hits
all the right checkmarks of the Spielbergian nostalgia driven subgenre ala Super 8 or Stranger Things.
Helmed
by The Spy Who Dumped Me director
Susanna Fogel and written by Ice Age screenwriter
Peter Ackerman, Dynoman and the Volt concerns
a strained but growing bond between a young junior-high student named Dylan
(Tyler Crumley) and his cantankerous grandfather (Robert Forster in one of his
final film roles). Forced to stay in his
son’s home following a work-related injury, the odd grandpa/grandson couple
find common ground over their mutual love for comic books. When an ancient relic in the form of a
mystical ring bearing a striking resemblance to the Martian periscope from The War of the Worlds from the grandfather’s
past shows up, a new take on the superhero film begins to take shape.
Far
and away the most endearing and heartwarming episode of the new series with
easily its most gifted and cherished leading performance yet, Dynoman and the Volt showcases the late
actor’s innate ability to still deliver impressive work to the very end. Most certainly the actor’s best turn on the
television screen in recent memory since Twin
Peaks: The Return, Forster makes the grumpy old granddad an engaging and
complex figure we want to see bond with his grandson if only he could stop
standing in his own way. Supporting
performances by child actor Crumley and the roles of his parents are strong but
the inclusion of Forster in a crucial part elevates the piece to new emotional
heights not seen in the first two episodes.
Whether
this new iteration of Spielberg’s Amazing
Stories is catching on with mainstream audiences or not remains to be seen,
but for my time and money it has been a fun ride with this one being the most
exciting yet! Pure old fashioned
Spielberg magic as if the mid-1980s never ended, Dynoman and the Volt stands out as probably one of the most
enjoyable throwbacks to a bygone era defined by one of genre filmmaking’s
greatest purveyors. With only two more
episodes left to go with the first season of the 2020 remake of the hit 1985
television show, it will indeed be very hard to top this one!
--Andrew Kotwicki
