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from my blog (http://modage.tumblr.com/post/4326336356/super-review):
We are clearly reaching a saturation point with superhero films where it's becoming hard to tell some of them apart. If you've heard of "Super" at all, you probably thought it looked like a retread of "Kick-Ass," that other twisted violent take on a regular guy who decides to don a costume and fight crime. Which is a shame because writer/director James Gunn wrote this script in 2002 and though the films do share their similarities they are very different tonally. It's also hardly a superhero film at all. Whereas "Kick-Ass" seems to enjoy playing with your expectations of this type of film, it's still a fairly straightforward "Spider-Man"-like origin story. In "Super" it's pretty clear that the people dressing up to beat the shit out of criminals are actually the disturbed ones.
Rainn Wilson plays Frank, a sad sack who ends up with Sarah (Liv Tyler) fresh out of rehab, only to lose her to drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) when she relapses. He decides to become a superhero to fight evil and win her back. Wilson is good in the part and he nails a few big moments that are nakedly emotional. Ellen Page is a maniac in this film as sidekick Libby ("Boltie"), a psychotic little ball of energy with a major superhero fetish. It's a great role for her and one she devours with glee. (Anyone who doesn't like her because of "Juno" or who says she always plays the same character needs to watch this film because she rules.) Together the pair commit shocking acts of violence in an effort to fight evil and if you have a weak stomach, this may not be the film for you.
Made for about a million dollars, the film has a shaggy dog charm where it being a little rough around the edges is actually part of it's appeal. Gunn is throwing a lot on screen here and not all of it works but it feels like he's having fun and he's got something to say. The filmmaker is using every creative tool in his box, which is why the film feels so personal, he's throwing in a mix of over-the-top violence, social satire, and disturbed character portrait and it feels like there were no rules. This film could have easily been a disaster (and I'd read some reviews that pegged it as one) which is why it completely surprised me. While it wont be able to escape the shadow of "Kick-Ass," it's certainly a worthy companion piece. Completely entertaining and one of the biggest surprises of 2011 for me.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/super/
you know, I really hated Kick-ass and The Rocker as well. So it's good to hear that this isn't in the same vein as those, like stylistically and not trying to be a star vehicle for Wilson, but to just to make something good, that works. I have to say, I haven't liked any superhero movie ever besides Watchmen...once. So usually if I see some dumb ad with a guy in a costume I'm like "Count me out", but James Gunn is cool, Slither was cool, you can count me in at giving a half-assed attempt at watching "Super"
I also really liked this. I agree it's a bit of a kitchen sink film, but it's messiness, for me, helped elevate the film over the typical, sanitized type superhero films that are all about having their ducks in a row. One thing I hate about most comic book heroes is they're perfectly flawed for the sake of dramatic structure. This one isn't. I'd say the film has some internal conflicts that could almost be strategic given the internal conflicts of its protagonist, and the whole thing together says a lot about confusion and disorganized priorities without forcing a single resolution or answer. It makes a handful of populist concessions that I think it shouldn't have, but also spits in the face of convention whenever it can. It was wise of Gunn to cast real-deal b actors as well. Page, if she's actually an a list actress, behaves with the total conviction and sincerity of the other b actors. Seeing Michael Rooker was a surprise/delight, and Rainn Wilson gave everything he should have given.
Now THIS is a super hero movie. The one I've been waiting for, for a LONG time. I fell in love with this flick and it just made me smile all the way through. My heart just melted with happiness. Each scene sparkles with action and grit. Movies like these make me happy to be alive. I'm watching the live commentary now. Very few films make my soul happy this is one of them. In my top ten of 2011, definitely.
This movie was terrible. I didn't finish watching it--I turned it off after the painful-to-watch scene in which he slept with Page's character. It just reeked of amateurishness all around, from the writing to the directing to the acting. Even Kevin Bacon craters as the rich scumbag, a role he could do in his sleep. It was like watching a Tromaville movie with real celebrities, but with a completely unfunny comedic sense.
Good idea, awful execution. Shit script. Shit direction. Shit acting.
Basically, it's audaciously unfunny camp.
Quote from: The Ultimate Badass on March 10, 2012, 12:01:17 AM
I turned it off after the painful-to-watch scene in which he slept with Page's character.
A good rule of thumb for reviewing a film is to not reveal that you didn't watch all of said film.
I loved it, it's wildly uneven, but Rainn Wilson is great and it played with cliches in just the right way for me.
Quote from: ddiggler on March 13, 2012, 10:24:14 PM
Quote from: The Ultimate Badass on March 10, 2012, 12:01:17 AM
I turned it off after the painful-to-watch scene in which he slept with Page's character.
A good rule of thumb for reviewing a film is to not reveal that you didn't watch all of said film.
I loved it, it's wildly uneven, but Rainn Wilson is great and it played with cliches in just the right way for me.
I actually agree with you. I would never pay any mind to a review in which the reviewer admitted to not watching the entire movie. I think I made it about 3/4 through and then ffwd around to scenes to see if the tone changed or anything interesting happened. It didn't. I could've sat through it in realtime meticulously watching to see if shit suddenly turned to gold, but I thought I saw enough. I found the movie pretty consistently unbearable.
But, you've motivated me to watch this movie in its entirety on principle. Review part two coming.