Chris Carthern pays homage to The Boys series with a wildly entertaining fan film that sets a new standard for the genre. A-Train: New Beginnings displays a genuine love and passion for the characters and exemplifies the exuberance around cosplay and superheroes as only true universal fandom can offer. Carthern uses a balance of dark comedy and music to create a wonderful entry into the world of fan films and parodies.
The audience joins The Seven superhero team at a meeting where they learn that an incident involving collateral damage and a civilian, caused by A-Train, was caught on camera. As a result, A-Train is suspended from his superhero duties, setting him on a journey of self-discovery and a quest for a new beginning.
As a true superhero auteur, Carthern delivers a visually stunning cosplay ensemble while taking on the roles of star, writer, director, and musical lyricist and performer in this film. His outstanding lead performance as A-Train, showcases a flair for comedy with his quick-witted timing. In the Ice Cream with Ugo scene, Carthern displays his comedic strengths as the world’s best hype man for his new brand and is incredibly convincing as the ultimate celebrity influencer. He gives new meaning to going “viral” with his performance in the first music video inspired by Ludacris and blazes to the top of the charts as only a poetic superhero lyricists can do.
Homelander (Salem Way) delivers a sharply sarcastic and antagonistic performance during the big confrontation with A-Train (Carthern), complimenting his performance. The wickedly talented supporting ensemble play off of Carthern’s electric performance and are authentically rounded out by Translucent (Voiced by Alex Cromwell), The Deep (Boaz Hernandez-Kosche), Queen Maeve (Joey G), and Starlight (Mina Shadrick). The witty banter between Starlight (Shadrick) and The Deep (Hernandez) is splendidly amusing. The darkly comical performances are surround by dazzling visual effects (Cromwell) that include Homelander’s glowing laser beam eyes, and Starlight’s lightning hands. The costumes and set design are vividly colorful and have a wonderful authentic charm and pay homage to the source material of the series.
Digging deeper on the music, Carthern uses outrageous and fantastical original tracks to drive the narrative as A-Train explores his creative side. The hot tracks “Speedster” and “Move B***h Get Out the Way” dazzle the audience with their comedic sense of injustice all straddling the very dark sci-fi humor of the unfortunate events that under took A-Train. Superfans of The Boys series will celebrate the lyrical wit and prowess of A-Train, but any superhero or comic book fan will enjoy them as well. Queen Maeve (Joey G) profoundly proclaims that A-Train’s first track is “a banger”, but the ultimate viral sensation is the original song “Mr. Run Through Ya Girlfriend.” That track along with the companion video plays out as a hysterical homage to the series and sheds a new light on the pilot episode of The Boys that makes Amazon Prime jealous. Joey G delivers her jokes with a coy sarcastic tone and, due to the tight editing of Chong Ahn, the other ensemble members also have to deliver their one-liners with skillful comedic timing. The entire film has a serious slice of over-the-top dark humor, but is a delightful tongue in cheek wink to the series and the characters in an absurdly amusing way, allowing the darker tones to shine a little brighter.
Carthern blends all original tracks, one of which is inspired by the famous Ludacris jammer “Move B***h, Get Out The Way” produced by Q Tha Producer and written by Carthern. The majority of the narrative in the second half of the short is made up of music video sequences starring A-Train performing “Mr. Run Through Ya Girlfriend” produced by King Wizard and Q Tha Producer and the above mentioned “Get Out the Way”. Carthern’s fan film parody has earned numerous awards and nominations at various film festivals, including several focused on the music videos and original songs. The music team, consisting of Carthern, ToneTheGoat, and Alfonzo Wheeler, does a stellar job of amplifying the charismatic energy of the great performances, which are the highlights of a well-rounded production
With A-Train: New Beginnings, Carthern delivers an evocative and amusing comedic journey of reinvention, self-discovery and personal success. The film also is a sharp commentary on fan and celebrity culture, the power of social media, and the PR machine that runs the music business. A-Train seeking both a challenge and the need to boost his creativity, finds them in this spirited tale of a celebrity lyricist on the viral ride of his life – outrageous even for a superhero.
This clever and sharply written fan film, is exactly what the superhero world needs right now. DC and Marvel should pay attention and learn something from Carthern’s marvelous and breathtaking comedic showmanship, auteurist vision, and musical artistry.
