Secret Headquarters Blu-ray Review

3 Stars It’s good, not great, but a likable good.
Secret Headquarters Review

Live action family-friendly fare like Secret Headquarters doesn’t come along quite as often these days it seems. It’s nice to have a film (originally intended for theatrical release), with a decent-sized budget, some marquee names, and alive with fun adventure and sweet humor, come along. By most accounts the film suitable for a wide range of ages. It won’t offer much by way of originality, but the feel of the familiar somewhat work as a positive for those looking for something expected to share with their kids. It comfortably follows a formula, sprinkling in some general humor and a few sparks of genuine comedic cleverness that become welcome delights. It’s good, not great, but a likable good.

Secret Headquarters (2022)
Released: 05 Aug 2022
Rated: PG
Runtime: 104 min
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Cast: Owen Wilson, Michael Peña, Walker Scobell
Writer(s): Christopher L. Yost, Josh Koenigsberg, Henry Joost
Plot: While hanging out after school, Charlie and his friends discover the headquarters of the world's most powerful superhero hidden beneath his home. When villains attack, they must team up to defend the headquarters and save the world.
IMDB rating: 5.1
MetaScore: 47

Disc Information
Studio: Paramount
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1
Audio: Dolby Atmos, Other
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: PG
Run Time: 1 Hr. 43 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, Digital Copy
Case Type: Standard Blu-ray with sleeve
Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 12/20/2022
MSRP: $31.99

The Production: 3/5

“But why couldn’t he tell me?”

Since his parents split up, Charlie’s (Walker Scobell) dad, Jack, keeps disappointing him. On the eve of his birthday, what was supposed to be a fun night with his dad (Owen Wilson) becomes another notch in the belt of letdowns as Jack is ‘called away’ on yet another IT emergency. Charlie fakes a call to his mom to come pick him up, and instead calls his best bud, Berger (Keith L. Williams) to come over and hang out once Jack has departed. Berger brings two other friends, Lizzie (Abby James Witherspoon), social-media maven, and Maya (Momona Tamada), Charlie’s crush who just arrived back at their school after many years away. As they play around the house, they make a startling discovery. Charlie’s dad has a secret elevator that leads to a secret underground lair filled with gadgets and incredible technology. Turns out Charlie’s dad may in fact be the superhero, The Guard, a hero that Charlie adores! The night gets complicated when armed intruders, under orders from the head of a weapons company, Argon (Michael Peña), and lead by Irons (Jesse Williams) turn up to steal a special power source kept in the secret headquarters. It’s up to the kids to keep the power source out of the hands of the bad guys while The Guard is away on a mission.

There’s something rather routine about the way this film was shot and constructed. Direction is fine from duo partnership of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish, Paranormal Activity 3, Nerve) who keep the energy high, the frame full, and the images colorful, but there’s no anchor of freshness to give the rest of the film permission to borrow so easily from everything else done in this type of film. So, besides working hard to find a different way into the Superhero conceit, there are no real surprises here. It feels a bit like a cousin to the family-friendly Netflix original film, The Adam Project that premiered earlier this year (which also starred Walker Scobell as the young Adam – he’s quite the talent!), albeit more ensemble and less imaginative in its plotting. But that predictability and soft-edged approach tends to work in this film’s favor as family-friendly entertainment. Those looking for something to watch over the holiday season that might appeal to audiences young and old will find a safe bet here.

The young actors are good, with Walker Scobell as Charlie and Keith L. Williams as Berger standing out. Kids in these films are always anchored by a nerdiness and a lack of grace, but a keen enthusiasm for adventure that lays before them (and a necessary maturity that develops to stand up against the adversary). The young cast inhabit these roles well enough to make it work.  The adult cast are all good, too. Owen Wilson is pervasively likeable and reliable as The Guard. He’s a better actor and better comedic presence than he’s give space to showcase here (he’s not used that much), but he does well as the apologetic father who can’t help disappointing his son. Michael Peña, always a welcome member of a cast, is great here playing up the bad guy role with comedic energy. Peña has a terrific comedic instinct and when he’s given room to riff the scene is all the better for it. Jesse Williams, too, is good as the disgruntled Irons who blames Wilson’s Jack for ‘stealing’ the alien technology from him.

I’ve a soft spot for these kinds of films, movies that open up fantastic adventures and newly discovered wonders to unsuspecting kids who dive in 100%. Think Goonies and Explorers as templates. The kids learn about themselves, face their fears, laugh, and learn valuable lessons along the way. What’s also encouraging is that this film has a home video release. Positioned as a Paramount+ premiere movie, once intended for theatrical release before being repositioned to bolster the streaming platforms offerings, it’s nice that the film can find an audience beyond those willing or able to subscribe to Paramount+.

Secret Headquarters is likeable and seems budgeted and suitable as a streaming film rather than a theatrical one which may explain the decision to premiere it on Paramount+, but don’t let that fool you. As live action family-friendly movies go, this one is fun enough to give it a try.

Video: 4.5/5

3D Rating: NA

Framed at 2.39:1, the HD presentation is colorful. Black levels of good, blues are tight, and the orange accents, driven by the power source, offer good contrast. Detail is generally sharp throughout and about what you’d expect from a 1080p presentation of a movie filmed with Arri Alexa cameras. At times the darker scenes can be a little too dark and I wonder if the UHD stream would improve the details you can see in those moments, but you can still make out what you need to within those scenes in this presentation.

Audio: 4.5/5

What a delight to find a decent Dolby Atmos track offered with this Blu-ray. Paramount didn’t release this film on 4K disc, and the HD streaming version (that you get with the Digital Code) doesn’t offer Atmos – the only way, beside the Blu-ray, to get this track is the UHD stream you can purchase on digital retailers like Vudu. It’s not as dynamic and full as the best Atmos tracks out there, but it announces it’s potential during the mysterious opening crash scene with some good overhead movement. The surrounds during the many action moments, especially as the kids fight off the armed intruders, showcase the best of the track and there’s some overhead activity sprinkled throughout as well. Lorne Balfe’s unremarkable but workable score isn’t as pronounced as I would have expected, as the audio favors effects and dialogue, but it all works out in the end.

Special Features: 3/5

An okay collection of special features. Not much depth but the features on the creation of the headquarters set (which is built around a portion of an abandoned mall), and Moon Dance are quite good. The gag reel is disappointing (most of these gag reels are missing actual gags and line flubs).

  • BFFLs—Join the cast of Secret Headquartersas they reflect on their characters and how they developed unshakeable bonds as Best Friends For Life.
  • The Secret Headquarters—Go behind the scenes and discover how the crew brought the set of Secret Headquarters to life.
  • Panic! At the Moon Dance—The production team discusses how the set, stunts and special effects came together to create the most important sequence of the film.
  • Who is the Guard?—Owen Wilson explains who The Guard is and how the guardian came to be.
  • Gag Reel—Outtakes and bloopers from Secret Headquarters.
  • Deleted & Extended Scenes
  • Digital Code for the film

Overall: 4/5

Live action family-friendly fare like Secret Headquarters doesn’t come along quite as often these days it seems. It’s nice to have a film (originally intended for theatrical release), with a decent-sized budget, some marquee names, and alive with fun adventure and sweet humor, come along. By most accounts the film suitable for a wide range of ages. It won’t offer much by way of originality, but the feel of the familiar somewhat work as a positive for those looking for something expected to share with their kids. It comfortably follows a formula, sprinkling in some general humor and a few sparks of genuine comedic cleverness that become welcome delights. It’s good, not great, but a likable good.

Neil has been a member of the Home Theater Forum reviewing staff since 2007, approaching a thousand reviews and interviews with actors, directors, writers, stunt performers, producers and more in that time. A senior communications manager and podcast host with a Fortune 500 company by day, Neil lives in the Charlotte, NC area with his wife and son, serves on the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Charlotte Board of Directors, and has a passion for film scores, with a collection in the thousands.

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