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.
