Star Wars franchise veteran Hayden Christensen portrays a father trying to save his son’s life in First Kill, an action thriller directed by Steven C. Miller and written by Nick Gordon. If you can stand the annoying background sounds and music, this movie might be interesting for you. It features lots of action and a fabulous performance by newcomer Ty Shelton as the youngster in peril. This talented child actor deserves to be in more movies! He captures your attention quickly, similar to the way Haley Joel Osment did in movies like The Sixth Sense back in days of yore.

The cast also includes Gethin Anthony (Marauders) who surprises us by making a kidnapper/robber seem human and Bruce Willis (Once Upon a Time in Venice) as an officer of the law with an agenda of his own. But Shelton steals the movie with his engaging dramatic turn here.  

Eleven years and just a boy,

he learns a gun is not a toy.

His dad wants him to be a man.

So hunting seems the surest plan.

But a crime they see stops their sport.

The hunting trip? It’s very short.

A wounded man snatches the kid.

Dad tries hard to find where he’s hid.

Gunplay erupts throughout First Kill.

For some film fans, that’s a big thrill.

Suspense occurs about who’s bad

and if the head cop is a cad.

Bruce Willis plays police chief here.

Yet it’s the boy for whom we cheer.

Loud background noises burn our ears,

evoking jeers instead of cheers.

And about that noise, I realize it’s there to enhance our feelings of suspense and fear. Unfortunately, when overdone in a film, those sounds take us out of the story and make it harder to suspend disbelief. That’s why I am so disappointed with First Kill. I’m usually a pushover for movies about children in peril. On the positive side, the film’s plot has potential plus the actors are fine. Too bad the background sounds seem way out of control.       

We ought to call ourselves Homo clamarans, Noisemaking Man. --- Stephen Baxter

Noise creates dusty air on the mind. --- Mehmet Murat ildan

(Released by Lionsgate Premiere and rated “R” for some violence and language.)

For more information about First Kill, go to the IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes website.