The Meteor Man (film)
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| The Meteor Man | |
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 Theatrical one-sheet for The Meteor Man |
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| Directed by | Robert Townsend |
| Produced by | Robert Townsend Loretha C. Jones |
| Written by | Robert Townsend |
| Starring | Robert Townsend Marla Gibbs Eddie Griffin Robert Guillaume James Earl Jones Roy Fegan Don Cheadle Bill Cosby Big Daddy Kane Frank Gorshin Sinbad Luther Vandross Tommy 'Tiny' Lister John Witherspoon |
| Music by | Cliff Eidelman |
| Cinematography | John A. Alonzo |
| Editing by | Adam Bernardi Richard Candib Robaire W. Estel Andrew London Pam Wise |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | August 6, 1993 (USA) |
| Running time | 100 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Gross revenue | $8,023,147 (USA) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Meteor Man is a 1993 film by director, writer, and star Robert Townsend about a superhero.
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[edit] Plot
Jefferson Reed is a mild mannered school teacher in Washington D.C. His neighborhood is plagued by a local gang, The Golden Lords, drug dealers who terrorize the locals. One night, Jeff steps in to rescue a woman from the gang, only to end up running from them himself. Hiding in a garbage dumpster, he manages to escape, but as he climbs out of it, he is struck down by a glowing green meteorite which crashes down from the sky. His spine is crushed and he receives severe burns. A small fragment of the meteor was left over and was taken by a silent vagrant (Bill Cosby). He awakens several days later in the hospital, but when his bandages are taken off, he is miraculously healed from all his injuries.
Jeff soon discovers the meteorite has left him with other abilities too, such as flight and superhuman strength. Confiding this to his parents (Robert Guillaume and Marla Gibbs), he is convinced by them to use his powers to try and help his community. His mother designs a costume for him, and as The Meteor Man, he takes on the Golden Lords and their leader Simon Caine (Roy Fegan). He puts down a crack house, stops a robbery, and unites the Crips and Bloods.
The Golden Lords learn of his identity and the loss of his powers. The gang ruins the neighborhood. As the community members plan to make a deal with them, Jeff jumps in and teaches them about fighting for their beliefs. A powerless Jeff fights Simon and gets beaten in the process. Simon raises his gun up towards Jeff, planning to shoot him until Jeff's neighbor (James Earl Jones) throws a record at him and successfully knocks the gun out of Simon's hand. At this point the neighborhood fights back and the same man who picked up the small meteor fragment uses it to strip the Golden Lords of their guns. The man accidentally drops the meteor on the ground and Jeff and Simon notice this. They both get a fragment of the meteor and engage in a brawl, with Meteor Man as the victor.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Throughout the film, Jeff has displayed various superhuman abilities given to him by the meteor. Some of these abilities are similar to that of DC Comics superhero Superman, such as flight and strength. These powers include:
- Absorbing book content by touch
- Superhuman Strength
- Flight
- Laser Vision
- X-ray Vision
- Freezing Breath
- Healing Factor
- Imbue Fertility
- Telekinesis
- Animal Communication
- Superhuman Speed
[edit] Trivia
- Although the movie was set in Washington, it was mostly filmed in Baltimore.
- Marvel Comics produced a 6-issue limited series spin-off titled simply Meteor Man
- The opening song is Can't Let Her Get Away from Michael Jackson's Dangerous album.
- The title theme song was performed by Big Hat Ray Ray (aka Raymond Smith).
- Robert Townsend would go on to direct and star in another superhero film: The Disney Channel movie Up, Up and Away. While Marla Gibbs plays Meteor Man's mother in this film, her The Jeffersons co-star and on-screen enemy Sherman Hemsley plays Townsend's father in the Disney Channel film.
[edit] Cast
- Robert Townsend - Jefferson Reed/The Meteor Man
- Marla Gibbs - Maxine Reed
- Eddie Griffin - Michael
- Robert Guillaume - Ted Reed
- James Earl Jones - Earnest Moses
- Roy Fegan - Simon Caine
- Don Cheadle - Goldilocks
- Bobby McGee - Uzi
- Bill Cosby - Marvin
- Big Daddy Kane - Pirate
- Frank Gorshin - Byers
- Sinbad - Malik
- Nancy Wilson - Principal Laws
- Luther Vandross - Jamison
- Another Bad Creation - Jr. Lords
- Tommy 'Tiny' Lister - Digit
- Jenifer Lewis - Mrs. Williams
- Vinnie - Bloods
- Anthony 'Treach' Criss - Bloods
- Kier Gist - Bloods
- Cypress Hill - Crips
- Beverly Johnson - Woman Doctor
- LaWanda Page - Old Nurse
- Lela Rochon - Vanessa the Pretty Nurse
- Wallace Shawn - Mr. Little
- John Witherspoon - Clarence James Carter III
