team of young semi-pro action sports athletes have been having a tough time. At the most recent BFX Games Tournament, they come close to getting kicked off the circuit. However, when they meet real-life extreme sports legend Jason Ellis, he offers inspiration and tells them about a coach who just might take them on.
They hunt down Sylvester "Skip" Crovo (David Millbern), who agrees to coach them, with a couple conditions. One of those conditions is adding one more member to the team, Skip's son, Zolar (Hoffart). Zolar's not quite what they expect. In fact, he doesn't even look human. Instead he's blue and has funny ears and a big nose. The group isn't sure about the new guy, but they feel they really need a coach. One member of the group bails, but the others decide to give the blue guy a chance.
As Dex (Moss), his little sister Chelsea (Wilson), Keiko (Clyne) and Hanson (Denis) start to train, they get to know Zolar and start to like him. It doesn't take long before they come to realize that Zolar doesn't look human because he isn't. He's an alien.
When alien goons led by the shape-shifting Prentiss (Andrew McIlroy) attack and attempt to kidnap Zolar, his extreme team of friends jump into action to help him. Knowing that Zolar and the others need some answers, Skip takes them all to meet real-life X-Game Gold and Silver medalist Mike Metzger. He tells them that almost all extreme sports athletes are, in fact, aliens.
They learn that Zolar is from the planet Zorkania, a place where everyone possesses Suris, an energy life force. The evil overlord, Hedion (Howell), attacked Zorkania and destroyed the planet. However, before he did, Zolar's parents transferred all the Suris into him and sent him to Earth. When Suris is removed from Zorkania, it becomes the most powerful energy source in the universe. That makes Zolar the most powerful being in the universe, and Hedion will stop at nothing to find him. When Hedion's henchmen get their hands on Zolar, it's up to the extreme team to do whatever it takes to save their friend.
Skateboarder from the stars
The Kids' WB! first original two-hour movie, Zolar, has plenty of action and a handful of talented young actors. The film has a nice, simple storyline, and there are some fun bad guys to spur the action along nicely. Zolar should appeal to the younger set, but older teens won't find much of interest here.
The cast features a diverse group of young actors who come across well and are believable. Adults have little purpose in Zolar, except for the bad guys and the cameos by Metzger and Ellis. Howell is unrecognizable as Hedion, and McIlroy and Craig Erickson provide some humor as the two stooge-type bad guys Prentiss and Geommer. The only adult parental unit is Millbern as Skip, and he conveniently vanishes when the action takes off.
As in too many television shows these days, Zolar's creators decided they needed some action in the beginning of the movie. Tossed in for no good reason is a snowboarding action sequence from the end of the movie. Viewers are then taken back in time a month, so the team can meet and learn about Zolar. It's an awkward bit of storytelling that Zolar could do without.
Other than that, the film is a straightforward tale that gives Zolar and his friends a chance to go skateboarding and snowboarding and fight the bad guys. There aren't any real surprises, but it is a good old-fashioned fun tale about family, friends and aliens.
Although there are more than 160 special effects in Zolar, there's no way to talk about them with any kind of authority. The rough cut provided had so few finished special effects that it's difficult to tell whether they will be done well. However, the promised effects do appear to be ambitious for a television movie.
