Thomas Waters (Jake Fallon) is a collector who lives on the margins and severely struggles to pay his bills. His life obviously in disarray, we are introduced to the main character while he is on the run in Plunder Quest, written and directed by Kalani Hubbard. Thus, scorching the Brooklyn streets on his moped, we are immediately struck with a sense of off-the-wall fun. Soon enough, the Quest aspect arrives, and we seem to have a pretty cool mix of humor and off-kilter adventure at hand. But unfortunately, the unfolding doesn’t quite live up to the set up and turns the treasure hunt bare.
Upon introduction, Thomas has made a deal with a nerdy fan of a long lost movie, and a VHS is the possession that Marcus (Keith Mackler) prizes. Mackler’s portrayal has geek down to a science, and when Thomas tries to stiff him, another chase ensues. Both having the expected level of athleticism, the disjointed traverse through the Brooklyn streets matches in kind. Then breaking into a revved up Indie Guitar riff (The Muckers), the free spirit and open possibilities of Brooklyn life, the feature film is off to a good start.
So getting away and under the watchful eye of ever present creditors, Plunder Quest continues to make good light of Thomas’ financial troubles. The rent also long past due, Thomas comes across a glimmer of hope. He is in possession of several prohibition whiskey bottles that are of interest to a curator (Paul Lutvak) who is putting on an exhibit. A nice little respite, the sale does not get Thomas out of the woods but there is a possible out.
The revelation comes in the form of a history lesson from the curator. No mass producers of hard liquor in the U.S. at the time, Lutvak does a very good job pulling us in with his lecture over coffee and clarifies where the term rum runner comes from. “They would sail smuggled liquor from all over the world to right here in New York and what they would do is hide the rum on nearby islands. Smaller fishing boats would come in and pick it up on a schedule. It was a very well run operation. They called the string of Islands “rum row.”
Pretty cool and then the Lutvak’s thoughtful dissertation doles out the inciting incident. “If empty bottles are worth this much, I can’t imagine how much one with something in it would be worth.”
The light bulb immediately goes off, and Thomas takes the next step. He learns that New York’s Bannerman Island was on Rum Row, and rumor has it that an old stash remains unfound. Well played, but Plunder Quest may have bitten off more than it can chew. A real quest has been added to the playful romp, and unfortunately, the remainder does neither well.
Nonetheless, Thomas ensnares the waitress at his local coffee shop, and Amber’s (Katherine Flannery) reluctance to tag along is tempered by her affection for Thomas the scoundrel. Not quite as appealing as Indiana Jones, Amber’s back and forth forges a connection, which also tries to follow the off-the-wall aspect of the film’s outset. There is a good chemistry between the actors, but the dialogue and attempts at humor fall short.
Either way, the hunt begins, and is signaled by an inquisitive and pensive score. However, the well done piece of music by Massimo Sammi doesn’t match up with the details and dots that will have to be connected.
The first hurdle is getting to the Island itself. Thus, the plot twists needed to get ashore just don’t ring true like in a Raiders of the Lost Ark. This, despite the strong Dustin Ward cinematography that sets the events down various dark crevices and foreboding locales.
The same shallow twists reoccur when the couple gets to the Island. A clue after clue progression to locate the stash does not ensue, and the score kicking unwarrantedly into adventure gear doesn’t help.
Of course, the less than strong plot could be overlooked if the Thomas/Amber connection could carry the drama and/or the cast of characters hit the mark like Marcus. It just doesn’t work, and in the end, you feel like you’ve come away empty handed.
