Secret Headquarters
| Secret Headquarters | |
|---|---|
 Official release poster | |
| Directed by | |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Christopher L. Yost |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Larry Fong |
| Edited by | Gregory Plotkin |
| Music by | Lorne Balfe |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Paramount+ |
Release dates |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Secret Headquarters is a 2022 American superhero comedy film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who co-wrote the movie with Christopher L. Yost and Josh Koenigsberg, based on a story by Yost. Starring Owen Wilson, Walker Scobell, Jesse Williams, Keith L. Williams, Momona Tamada, Charles Melton, and Michael Peña, the plot follows a child (Scobell) and his friends (K. L. Williams, Tamada) who begins to suspect his father (Wilson) might be a superhero after discovering a secret headquarters in his basement.
The film premiered at the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia on August 8, 2022, and was released in the United States on August 12, 2022, on Paramount+. The film received generally mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Jack Kincaid is The Guard, a superhero chosen by an alien artifact to inherit its powers and save the world, but his hero duties cause him to neglect his parental duties to his son Charlie, driving a wedge between them. When Charlie stays at Jack's house for his birthday, he invites his friends Berger, Lizzie, and Maya over, where they find Jack's underground lair and find out his secret identity. Meanwhile, weapons CEO Ansel Argon wants to use The Guard's power source for his own sinister schemes.
After the kids use Jack's gadgets, Argon's head mercenary, Sean Irons, brings his team to track down the power source. The kids fight back against them, and Jack manages to arrive just in time, but when Berger sends the source through a portal connected to his locker at school, Argon uses one of Jack's gadgets to get his own suit and kidnap Berger to find the source. Charlie leads his friends, plus Irons, to get their own gadgets to fight back. The showdown takes place during the school dance, ending with Charlie sending Argon through a portal to another dimension with a grenade. He ends up dancing with Maya and kissing her. Charlie ends up joining Jack so they can fight crime together.
Cast
- Owen Wilson as Jack Kincaid/The Guard, a superhero.
- Walker Scobell as Charlie Kincaid
- Louie Chaplin Moss as Younger Charlie Kincaid
- Keith L. Williams as Berger
- Momona Tamada as Maya Monroe
- Michael Peña as Ansel Argon
- Jesse Williams as Sean Irons
- Charles Melton as Hawaii
- Abby James Witherspoon as Lizzie
- Kezii Curtis as Big Mac
- Jessie Mueller as Lily Kincaid
- Lucius Baston as Jerry the Janitor
- DK Metcalf as Coach Hammer
- Dustin Ingram as Jersey
- Levy Tran as Virginia
- Michael Anthony as Wisconsin
- Lav Luv as Umpire
- Dayna Beilenson as Ms. Squint
- David Lengel as Coach Skipper
Production
Secret Headquarters was announced on May 6, 2021, when it was reported that Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman would direct the film for Paramount Pictures and would also work on the current draft for the project with Josh Koenigsberg from an original idea by Christopher Yost. In May 2021, Owen Wilson was cast in an undisclosed role. Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia on May 25, 2021. In June, Michael Peña, Walker Scobell, Momona Tamada, Keith L. Williams, Abby James Witherspoon, and Kezii Curtis were all announced as part of the cast. In July 2021, Jesse Williams joined the cast as the villain. Lorne Balfe composed the score.
Release
Secret Headquarters was released on Paramount+ on August 12, 2022. It was originally scheduled to be released in theaters on August 5, 2022 before moving to streaming on the same date. The film's red carpet premiere took place at the Signature Theater in New York City on August 8, 2022.
Home media
Secret Headquarters was released on Blu-ray and DVD on December 20, 2022.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 45% of 38 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "There are far worse family viewing options, but given the talent assembled, Secret Headquarters is a disappointingly bland and muddled action movie." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".