An adventure film in the vein of the Indiana Jones flicks as well as Romancing the Stone, Plunder Quest sets the chaos in an unusual location: the streets of New York City. Kalani Hubbard’s feature-length debut uses this urban landscape to great effect for a fun film.
Our hero is Tom Waters (Jake Fallon), who collects rare items for other collectors. During a sale of Prohibition-era whiskey bottles, Tom learns of a cache of unopened rum hidden on the islands near the Hudson River. Coffee shop waitress Amber (Katherine Flannery) is soon roped into Tom’s hijinks. They encounter rough-and-tumble sailors, clients Tom has ripped off, gamblers, and various other characters on their search for the liquid gold.
The film balances dangerous situations with comedic relief very well and shows that Hubbard knows her adventure flick history. Hubbard uses a lot of tropes from earlier adventure movies, yet in the new setting, they feel rejuvenated. Fallon as Waters is a prime example of theatrical balance: he’s a conniving idiot, but charming enough to root for. Hubbard draws a lot on adventure iconography such as booby traps, secret passages, betrayals, and hidden codes feature throughout. It’s familiar territory, but modernization gives it a unique edge.
Plunder Quest is a movie any adventure/action genre buff would recognize. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. It would work well in a film series about New York City. Plunder Quest would also be useful for a unique library program about cinematic treasure hunts or heroes’ journeys.