Building a dream

The underdogs

The American dream has slowly become more of an exclusive luxury for the privileged than it is a possibility to any person that wishes to succeed, as clearly evident in Spare Parts, the true story about four illegal Hispanic students who come together to compete in an underwater robotics competition. Oscar (Carlos PenaVega) wants to enlist in the army but cannot due to his illegal status. Lorenzo (Jose Julian) is gifted but his talents go unappreciated, mostly from his father who favors his younger brother because he was born in the U.S. whereas Lorenzo was not. Cristian (David del Rio), another gifted student, is constantly

bullied and hides not only himself from public view but his talent as well. And then there is Hector (J.R. Villareal), a gentle giant who, of the four, has no direction of what he wants to do after he graduates. Through a chance meeting with substitute teacher Mr. Cameron (George Lopez), the boys come together to enter in the underwater robotics competition, but neither of them have any experience in robotics and only have a small budget to work with. Throughout their ordeal, the boys realize that each of them have the same objective despite their different backgrounds, and form a bond that will prove to be the key to their success. The biggest strength of Spare Parts is that it keeps the focus on the boys and their interactions with one another, never fixating on the politics of immigration. Instead, the film feels more like an underdog story (which it is when you think about it) but with science, which helps the film feel more relatable to viewers, Hispanic or not. In summation, Spare Parts is well-built (sorry, I had to say it), with great execution and terrific casting making it a memorable picture of defying expectations and proving excellence can be found anywhere.

-Reviewed by Razor, 5/7/15