Mystery Men (1999)

Very well executed

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Mystery Men (1999): Dir: Kinka Usher / Cast: Ben Stiller, Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, Claire Forlani: A celebration of the ordinary man taking a stand against a corrupt society. There is Mr. Furious, played by Ben Stiller who is empowered by his temper. William H. Macy plays the Shoveler who fights using a shovel. Hank Azaria plays a master of silver wear. The Bowler uses a swift bowling ball that shelters her father's skull. Spleen has lethal gas. Invisible Boy is pretty self explanatory. They are all taught by Sphinx who is given many of the funniest lines. Story regards the capture of Captain Amazing by the evil Cassanova Frankenstein leaving our amateur heroes to save the day. Overlong cartoon violence directed by Kinka Usher who exploits every cliché within reach. Greg Kinnear is hilarious as Captain Amazing who solved all crimes and is now reduced to promotional ads. Geoffrey Rush as Cassanova discovers the change in culture. Ben Stiller, William H. Macy and Azaria play modern heroes who play off great comic timing and chemistry. Claire Forlani is written as the standard love interest and damsel as oppose to a secret hero herself. The climax isn't as effective as it should be namely because the humour starts to drain out. On the positive end the premise is unique, and the art direction and visuals are flashy and exciting in this wonderfully realized spoof. Score: 8 ½ / 10

'Mystery Men' is a half-hearted comedy featuring a lot of good actors put through the motions of a bloated special effects light show. The best dialogue in the movie comes from the personalities of the actors themselves. This is the kind of movie that is best to watch on video with your remote in hand to fast-forward through the boring parts.The story: Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), the hero of Champion City has cleaned up the city of crime and his sponsers are getting restless for something new. He comes up with the idea of paroling his nemesis Dr. Casanova Frankenstein (that it NOT a typo) so that the doctor can cause some crime, the Captain can save the day and have his rep restored.The problem is that Frankenstein kidnaps the Captain. So it's up a band of second rate superheroes to spring into action. They include: Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) who 'gets Pompeii' when there is trouble; The blue raja (Hank Azaria) who hurls forks and spoon (His partners helpfully suggest that he try wearing blue instead lime green) and The Shoveler (William H. Macy) who fights with garden tools.When they see their opportunity to make a name for themselves they assign new team members which include: The Bowler (Janaene Garofalo) who hurls mean bowling ball which contains her late father's skull, Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) who can only turn invisible when no one is looking and The Spleen (Paul Reuben) who . . . um . . . well . . . vents it. My favorite though is The Sphinx (Wes Studi) a Zen Yoda-like trainer who dispenses hilarious saying like 'You must be a wolf pack, not a six pack' and 'You must lash out with every limb like an octopus who plays the drums' There are long stretches of dead screen time with no laughs. The fight scenes have a lot of energy dispensed with little payoff. The major scenes involving the special effects don't work.I wish that the movie had kept it simple. There are a lot of small moments in this movie that are brilliant. I especially liked Macy's line 'We've got a date with destiny and it looks like she's ordered the lobster'. I loved an early recruitment scene, which includes characters like The Waffler (who fights with waffle irons) and The PMS Avenger (who only works once a month).A curious thing happens when people talk about a movie like 'Mystery Men'. They will tell you what was wrong with it but then quickly tell you about a scene that works. This is the kind of middle-of-the-row comedy that people defend but do not endorse.

If ever there was a candidate for a movie with hidden messages, this is it. Mystery Men is an (alleged) allegorical masterpiece disguised as a campy send-up of an obscure independent comic book series. (see: Flaming Carrot). All the characters and situations symbolically represent aspects of society and the world today. This movie has developed a cult following since it's 1999 release even though it was considered a box office flop. It has an impressive, star-studded cast (Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Eddie Izzard, etc...) and numerous crazy scenes (like the superhero try-out party with Dane Cook) which are a joy to behold. So even if you've seen the movie before, watch it again and look for all the hidden symbolic meanings. You will be amazed! (HINT: Captain Amazing, who's secret identity is billionaire 'Lance Hunt represents America and the villainous 'Red-Eyes' represent 'communism'.)

Let me say that if you're not in tune with this movie, you're going to hate it.It tells the story of a group of super-heroes (in a world where some individuals are blessed with super-powers) whose powers are, to put it generously, extraordinarily lame. Fortunately, even though they do their best to help by banding together, their help is not needed because their city has a resident super-hero. Less fortunately, due to a mishap at their hands, he dies, and they have to come into their own to fight a super-villain.This delightfully loopy movie is blessed with a first rate cast. They play the material absolutely straight, and the movie is all the better for that (insofar as you can play straight the idea of someone who can turn invisible, but only when no-one is looking).I don't like the expression to "get" something. Nonetheless, I think it fits here - if you get Mystery Men, then you'll love it and, if you don't, you won't.