I am a very lucky man, One of the 11 screens playing James Gunn's Super was a mere 45 minutes away from my home. For those not familiar with James Gunn He was the man behind the fantastic horror/comedy Slither, the remake of Dawn Of the Dead and surprisingly enough the writer of both live action Scooby Doo films. I happened to already be a fan of Gunn's work going into the theater so I went in with high expectations. Now Super is not a film for everyone, the humor is bizarre and off color, The violence realistic and excessive, and the overall tone dark. That may turn some more passive moviegoers off but it was just the right combination to make me one very happy boy. Rain Wilson was picture perfect as the loser Frank, a looser who's drug addict wife (played by a fantastic Liv Tyler) leaves him for her dealer (Kevin Bacon who stole every scene he was in) sending Frank into a deep depression. In this depression Frank stumbles upon to the all Jesus network where he is first introduced to The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion - need I say more) a Christ powered super hero who saves children from the evils of Sloth and Pre-marital sex. Frank is then touched by the index finger of God and the CRIMSON BOLT is born. In his search for the perfect costume/weapon Frank is introduced to Libby (The sometimes overly energetic Ellen Page) who later becomes his "kid" sidekick. That's about as far into the plot as we can go without venturing down Spoiler Lane.
Everything done in this movie was done to absolute perfection. Rain Wilson gives an astonishingly good performance as Frank the not so loveable looser pushed to assault and battery. This came as an extra shock to me because I have never been a fan of Wilson's work in the office or any of the other movies I have seen him in but he proved me wrong by giving a performance far beyond what I would imagine him capable of. Ellen Page on the other hand seemed as if she was just trying to keep up with Wilson's performance which worked at some points but seemed a bit over the top at others. Though I will have to admit that she was absolutely adorable throughout the film. In short Super is a well acted well written piece that is a bit to off color to spawn a mainstream fan base but is destined to grow a strong cult following. Also remember never under any circumstances but in line.
Raiting:A
On a side note there is a lot of talk on the internet that this is just a lame Kick-Ass rip off which is not the case. For starters Super was a far better film then the woefully disappointing (understatement) Kick-Ass (seriously for the love of god read the damn comic instead). On a more practical not Super was written back in 2002 which was well before Kick-Ass was a glimmer in Mark Miller's eye.
"for starters Super was a far better film then the woefully disappointing (understatement) Kick-Ass"
ReplyDeleteThat pretty much sank your review right there. Disappointment for who? Die hard comic book fans? Because pretty much everyone else (critics and regular moviegoers) praised it and even out of that niche audience a lot them preferred the movie to the comics.
Let me put it this way for you,
ReplyDeleteImagine you go to a 5 star restaurant and order the Filet Mignon. You wait patiently for your meal and when it finally arrives you are simply handed a Big Mac. Theirs nothing wring with a Big Mac, hell on an average day you would gladly eat a Big Mac. But you paid for a Filet Mignon, you waited for a Filet Mignon, and god fucking damn it a Big Mac just wont cut it.
I know its a complicated metaphor (the Filet Mignon was what people who read expected Kick-Ass to be)but I'm sure understood it well enough.
I understood your simple metaphor but what you didn't understood is what kick-ass was supposed to be (an no, it wasn't a trying to take a hard look at what would happen if an actual guy decided to be a superhero).
ReplyDeleteIt uses that as a starting point and it keeps it grounded in reality for as much as possible but it still starts heading towards a comic book world (with the introduction of the father and daughter duo) and it ends up there in the climax.
The movie was trying to be one thing first and foremost: FUN. It achieved that in spades and seeing how many people enjoyed it only comes as confirmation. The director himself described it as a homage to superhero movies, not a deconstruction (although it has some elements).
The fact that some people judged it for the movie THEY THINK it was trying to be is entirely THEIR FAULT.
I was not judging Kick-Ass based off of what I thought it should be, I was basing it off of what the comic was. We can argue all day about how "fun" the movie was, (personally I love stupid fun movies. Hell I saw Drive angry and left the theater with a big goofy smile on my face.) But the point is Kick-Ass was a spit in the face to its source material. It was a dumbed down version of that the comic was with the best elements taken out so that the mainstream American audience,(Aka those who frequently view Jersey Shore and Family guy) would keep forking over money. There was no reason he needed to get the girl in the end except for the fact that the average American viewer likes to see the hero get a happy ending. Though I still can't understand why they needed to make Big Daddy a cop, I thought him being an actual grown up version of Kick-Ass added a whole new layer of to his character. Honestly I assume you never read the comic which would explain why you liked the movie, I would have to but seeing what it could have been watered down to such a degree was enough to make it one of the very few movies I hated.
ReplyDelete-On second thought I may have still disliked it had I not read the comic because of the whole Jetpack thing.
You're talking bollocks. The mentioning of Jersey Shore and family guy are laughable. You clearly don't know much about the movie.
ReplyDeleteComics can get away some something that the movie can't. The movie was aimed at a larger audience not just comic book fanboys. Because them and only them would support BD's origin in the comics where is simply a monster as opposed to the movie version where he is a flawed human being, but a human being nonetheless.
And yes I've read the comic, and I've enjoyed the movie a whole lot more. The only think the comic did better was giving more time to dave's relationship with his dad and the twist it pulled with red-mist.
Both, however, could not fit in the movie.
As far as Dave getting the girl. Yeah, they turned it into a happy ending. And I prefered it that way as opposed to him getting his ass kicked and crying while jerking off to katie giving the black guy a BJ. It was a rollercoaster ride of a movie that made me go "heall yeah" once it was over.
Maybe they took the less realistic approach but I'm watching a movie where a grown man trains her 11yr old daughter to be a vigilante killer. Realism isn't exactly what I'm looking for. What I'm looking for is FUN. The movie is the perfect example of it. It was funny, had great characters and the action scenes are easily some of the best the genre has to offer.
And I wasn't very happy with the jetpack either but that wouldn't be reason enough for me to dislike a movie. Especially one that's been so god damn good.
When did I ever imply that I expected Kick-Ass to be realistic, Because I don't remember. You of course are entitled to your opinion but to me the change in BD's character basically showed how the movie would rather sell out for a bigger pay check rather than do something risky that would please the fans whose dedication to the source material made it possible to be made. Also for me when Dave lost the girl in the comic it showed that the hero doesn't always get the girl and that's not always a bad thing because frankly she was a huge bitch and Dave deserved better but again Hollywood wants a clean cut ending that everyone will enjoy and pay to see.
ReplyDeleteAlso the Jersey Shore/Family Guy thing was just a reference to more stupid shit that the American populace will gobble up without a second thought, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.
But no matter how much the two of us argue (and I think we could easily go a few more rounds) nothing will change. You like the more straightforward movie whereas I tend to enjoy a film that is a bit of mark. At the end of the day we can argue until we are both blue in the face and nothing will change you will still like what you like and I won't.
They'll never make a movie for fanboys that is dedicated to the source material, they never have and never will, because they believe that even fanboys want some new twists and not the exact same story, so get over it.
ReplyDeleteScrew the Kick-Ass comparison, how does this compare to Defendor starring Woody Harrelson or Special starring Michael Rapaport? Movies I'd suggest you check out if you haven't.
I haven't seen Defendor, But I have seen Special which I loved. Super has a similar tone to Special but for me Super had a few more laugh out loud moments and a better cast/plot so I liked it a bit better but good call with mentioning Special which was fantastic.
ReplyDelete