Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy

I really liked Sully, and Mickey is pleasant enough and quite smart. Patrika Darbo shows intelligence and determination. Ernie Hudson does a great job and also shows courage. And Christopher Lloyd does his usual good job in flashbacks.

The actors playing the Southerners are another matter. Rick Plummer is good as their leader. The bald man is funny and pretty good. The man with long hair, though, seems to lack talent and delivers laughs just because he is such a moron.

As the Patriots and Copperheads now must fight to determine who controls the Alchemy Machine, we can feel confident. The Southerners who robbed the bank are like the Three Stooges.

This is an interesting mystery even if it occasionally turns violent.

Mickey Matson is a fun, family friendly film. It follows the adventures of a boy who begins searching for answers after receiving a rock from his grandfather. With the help of friends, he begins to unravel a mystery and discovers his grandfather's long kept secret. As he does so, he is forced to make some very tough decisions about doing what is right and learns that doing what is best is rarely the easiest option.

There's a little action, mystery, history, and some hilarious bad guys. The story line was fun and is something everyone can enjoy. I liken it to the Goonies or a kids' version of National Treasure. The cinematography, lighting, and visual effects were also very nice! I enjoyed the visual aspect of the film as much as I did the plot.

No doubt that producers saw a series of these Mickey Matson films and another was made and another may be planned if there's public demand for same. But the McGuffin of this film, an alchemy machine is really a bit much. Only the littlest kids are going to swallow this one.

Young Derek Brandon is an appealing young title character who lives in a really rural part of Michigan and as it opens we discover he's at the funeral of his grandfather Christopher Lloyd. Lloyd left him a rock which turns out to be the key to treasure. An unlimited treasure as it turns out because there was something to those medieval and ancient tales of alchemy where base matter can be turned into precious metal.

There's also a secret society of people named after northern sympathizers to the Confederate cause, the Copperheads. They want that alchemy thing. Just think of the havoc it would reek on the economy of those damn Yankees.

Brandon as I said is appealing as is his female sidekick Francesca DeRosa who is visiting her grandmother Patrika Darbo. But the story was just way too outrageous. For the little kids only.

Another family movie, that tries to be a kid "Indiana Jones". It starts out with a really strange pace, that pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the movie, along with EVERY Cliché EVER TO BE IN A FAMILY MOVIE. Dead grandparent leaves map behind, Kid gets picked on by annoying bullies who play video games. It's all there. The clichés are definitely the main issue in the movie. By half way even the 6yr old was guessing what would happen next and was (no surprise) correct. This led to an extremely boring and predictable film. The only plot twist is at the literal VERY END. But it doesn't even really make sense, a lot like the entire movie.

The only goodish part is the writing, which can be clever at times, but the acting seriously lets it down.

The only thing I liked about this movie was the setting. As a Michigan native I've been camping in a lot of the woods where the Mickey Matson movies were filmed. I also have family from that same area. Other than that I cannot recommend either movie. I suppose if you have nothing better to do or if you are six years old these flicks might be OK. Barely.