Although the majority of superhero movies revolve around characters from DC and Marvel, we occasionally get an original property. Into this category steps 2022’s Secret Headquarters.

Charlie Kincaid (Walker Scobell) lives a fairly ordinary life, though his dad Jack (Owen Wilson) tends to be MIA an awful lot of the time. One day, Charlie learns why his father stays away so much: Jack acts as the Guard, the world’s most important superhero.

A villainous weapons businessman named Ansel Argon (Michael Peña) discovers Jack’s secret identity and sends a team to retrieve the source of the Guard’s power. Charlie and his pals Berger (Keith L. Williams), Lizzie (Abby James Witherspoon) and Maya (Momona Tamada) team up to defend the facility from these baddies.

So… a superhero-related version of Home Alone? Sort of, though with more characters and with technology beyond the household objects used by the 1990 hit’s lead character.

Charlie and pals stumble across the Guard’s arsenal, so they can use that for their antics. This allows for many scenes of adolescent fantasy, as the kids utilize the items to cheat on tests at school or strike out batters at baseball games.

A lot of this feels like filler, as Headquarters struggles to fill its 103 minutes. It also makes some poor story choices along the way.

Headquarters opens with the Guard’s origin story. We see how Jack attained his Green Lantern-style powers in a prologue.

This feels like a major plot mistake, as it lets Jack “off the hook” for later in the movie. Headquarters loses all natural tension between Jack and Charlie because we understand that Jack must “ignore” his kid to save the world.

A more logical story would build the Guard and save the revelation that he is Charlie’s dad until the discovery of the hidden lair. I guess this early scene exists to give Wilson more screen time, but it feels like a major mistake.

Even after this unnecessary introduction, Headquarters wastes lots of cinematic real estate. Again, a better-constructed movie would combine the kids’ introduction to the Guard’s powers/gadgets with the attack of Argon and his goons.

Instead, we get extended segments in which the youngsters goof around with the technology so they can cheat on tests or strike out batters at baseball games. This offers minor entertainment at best but it mainly prolongs the film without much point.

Honestly, I feel surprised those involved stretched Headquarters to 103 minutes – not because that becomes a truly long run time, but instead because it seems unnecessary. This feels like an 80-minute tale – tops – that gets filled out to 103 minutes… just because.

Actually, 80 minutes might be too generous, as the film struggles to come up with useful content across that span. Some aspects of the movie give us sparks of life, but a lot of it seems both derivative and also repetitive.

I couldn’t find much information about the film’s origins and development, but this feels like a script that sat around for years before it finally got the greenlight. Headquarters comes with anachronisms given that it intends to take place in the 2020s.

Actually, as I watched, I occasionally wondered if Headquarters used the 2000s as its era. We get references to Britney Spears and Outkast that don’t make sense for adolescents circa 2022.

The use of a Nintendo Switch establishes Headquarters as a modern-day story, but boy does it bring some odd choices. Berger’s slightly older brother listens to INXS constantly, and when depressed, Charlie wallows in Anne Murray songs.

Really? Kids today are more open to “old music” than we were in my day, but nonetheless, these choices feel like the filmmakers threw them in to amuse adults in the audience, not because they made organic sense for the young characters.

Honestly, I actually wondered if they shot Headquarters years ago and it just sat on a shelf for an extended period. Apparently it didn’t even get the greenlight until 2021, so that doesn’t prove accurate, but all those weird pop culture allusions sure made it look like a dated tale.

Much of Headquarters comes across as contrived, and as mentioned earlier, it comes with spurts of cleverness. The actors do their best, and both Peña and Wilson bring their usual wit and personality to their roles.

All of this makes Headquarters as spotty entertainment at best. It comes with enough positives to ensure I don’t pan it, but it seems far too erratic and padded to satisfy.

Note that a comedic tag appears after the end credits conclude.

Secret Headquarters appears in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Overall, the image held up nicely.

Overall sharpness seemed strong. Nary a hint of softness impacted the image, so it remained tight and concise.

I saw no shimmering or jaggies. Both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.

Like so many other modern action movies, Headquarters opted for an orange and teal orientation, though these felt somewhat subdued relative to the gaudy tones of many films. Occasionally the image threw out other hues as well, and the Blu-ray depicted them in an appropriate manner.

Blacks showed good depth, and shadows offered appealing clarity and smoothness. In the end, the movie provided pleasing visuals.

In addition, Headquarters brought us a positive Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the soundscape opened up best when it indulged in its action sequences.

These used the various channels in a vivid, immersive manner that placed the elements in logical spots and meshed together well. The track gave us a strong sense of place and action.

Audio quality also pleased. Speech remained natural and distinctive, while music was full and rich.

Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with tight low-end. I liked this mix quite a lot.

A few extras fill out the disc, and we begin with BFFLS, a five-minute, 48-second featurette. It involves writers/directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, executive producer Orlee-Rose Strauss, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and actors Walker Scobell, Momona Tamada, Abby James Witherspoon, Keith L. Williams, and Kezii Curtis.

“BFFLS” looks at story/characters, cast and performances. We find out the kids had a blast and love each other – the end. No substance emerges.

The Secret Headquarters spans six minutes, six seconds and brings notes from Scobell, Joost, Schulman, Witherspoon, Bruckheimer, Tamada, Strauss, Williams, production designer Martin Whist, and actors Owen Wilson, Michael Anthony, Dustin Ingram, Jesse Williams and Michael Peña.

The program discusses the movie’s main set and vehicle. It leans toward some happy talk but comes with enough meat to merit a look.

Next comes Panic! At the Moon Dance, a six-minute, 16-second reel. It features Joost, Schulman, Wilson, Strauss, Scobell, Bruckheimer, Peña and stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Gregg Rementer.

With this one, we look at aspects of the movie’s climactic scene that includes sets, stunts, and performances. It becomes another decent mix of facts and fluff.

Who Is That Guard? goes for five minutes, 28 seconds. It brings comments from Wilson, Joost, Schulman, Scobell, Bruckheimer, costume designer Antoinette Messam and writer Josh Koenigsberg.

The program looks at the lead superhero role and related domains. Expect a few good details along with the usual praise.

A Gag Reel lasts three minutes, 45 seconds and provides the usual goofs and giggles. Actually, it comes with a few alternate lines, but it doesn’t offer much of interest.

Finally, we get one Deleted Scene called “Kids in the Lounge” (0:38) along with three Extended Scenes (9:23). “Lounge” just offers a little more of the young characters as they explore the HQ, so it seems cute but superfluous.

As for the extensions, they fill out existing sequences with fairly unnecessary material. As noted in the body of the review, Headquarters already runs too long, so extensions don’t feel practical.

As far as family entertainment goes, I can find worse entries than Secret Headquarters. However, the film seems oddly padded and anachronistic, so it becomes an inconsistent adventure. The Blu-ray boasts very good picture and audio as well as a handful of bonus materials. This turns into watchable but erratic fluff.