Super (2011)

i must have seen a different film!!

best movie i've ever seen.

Admirable film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

After his wife falls under the influence of a drug dealer, an everyday guy transforms himself into Crimson Bolt, a superhero with the best intentions, but lacking in heroic skills. Trying to explain Super would be the hardest thing i'd ever done so i decided to give you a simple example: if i had to choose between this and Batman & Robin? I'd choose Batman & Robin. This movie was so freaking stupid and over the top that at times i didn't even know what the hell i was watching it was just bland and despite the good cast the perfomances were truly horrible from start to finish. The Concept is good but the execution is all done terribly please watch Kick-Ass instead of this. (0/10)

'Super (2010)' is far more tragic than funny, only really a comedy in the blackest of senses, but actually works well as a dark, twisted and violent examination of vigilante justice without ever flinching away from its consequences. Yet, it somehow still manages to make its clearly psychologically damaged and very unhinged protagonist not only understandable but also fairly likeable. While it does falter in its final moments with a misjudged, almost 'altruistic' message clearly at odds with what we've just seen take place, there's a certain charm that comes from the flick's unwavering determination to be just as weird as it wants. It's this subversive streak that really carries the picture past its few faults. 7/10

Super is a mixed-bag that is surprisingly complex in how it's a mixed-bag. The film actually has a lot more going for it than I would've thought. There's definitely something here to make a great film, but that gets comprised as the film progresses further along (which we'll get to later). However, the film really does start out strong. Immediately we have a well- established, dark, yet undeniably humorous tone. This tone is one of Super's strengths, as it is (for the most part) consistent throughout the whole. It allows for a lot of good comedy and drama since the characters feel real pain but the audience can still laugh at the absurdity of the events playing out. The cinematography is surprisingly competent, especially since the entire movie is shot in hand-held to give off a more vulnerable and grounded feeling to the movie. Rainn Wilson gives a very good performance, and even though he isn't an amazing dramatic actor it's very apparent that he's giving it his all. Kevin Bacon is a very fun villain that is almost the straight-man which puts a nice comedic edge to him. Liv Tyler badly played a pretty lackluster love-interest that was mainly just a plot device. Nathan Fillion was a hilarious fictional comic-book hero that had some of the best lines and scenes in the film. And Ellen Page, while she did a decent performance, played the most annoying and awful character in the entire film. She's supposed to be the over- excited sidekick to the adult superhero but the constant screaming and ignorance that came from her was annoying and even disgusting at times (which I'll get to in a bit). Now for the main point of the film: the satire. Is this a good satire of comic book super heroes? Almost. The first two acts make for a very clever, black-comedy parody of those movies. Rainn Wilson isn't a comic-book fan at all (which is a refreshing twist to this type of story), he's just a mildly-depressed, religious schlub who likes to feel useful and heroic. He gets the idea to become a hero after his wife leaves him for Kevin Bacon and he gets a vision from The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) that "Some of God's children are chosen". This is a great delve into Rainn's mind as it makes him out to seem like a fairly fragile and almost insane man, making a statement on superheroes as a whole that in reality they are just immature adults with mental issues. The very graphic violence highlights this since it adds unexpected consequences to Rainn's hasty actions (like when he bashes someone's head in with a wrench cuz he butted in line and everyone is horrified). This is all great until Ellen Page gets wrapped into the story. She nearly kills the movie. She becomes Rainn's sidekick against his desire just because she wanted to. I get her being the overly optimistic and excited kid sidekick, but it was way too much here and wasn't all that fleshed out. Ellen Page's involvement almost kills the movie because her character faces barely any repercussions for her actions; going against the entire first half's point. She does nothing to help Rainn's character; she only hurts, changes, slows down, and even rapes him. But she gets relatively off scott-free. Easily the worst part of the movie. And then the film ends on a sappy, inspirational "I give hope to people" montage that every superhero movie has but feels as though it's being genuine rather than satirical; which, AGAIN, goes against the entire point established in the first half of the movie.Overall, Super had the potential to be a great dark-satire (which does show in the majority of the film); but gets brought down by Ellen Page's character and a horrifically contradictory third act. I did enjoy the film, and technically do recommend it (mainly for the first half); but I'm not sure if I'll ever see it again.

Before James Gunn got all famous and whatnot in the Marvel universe, he made a few dark, perverse little gems that aren't for everybody, but have to be seen by those with the right sense of humour. Slither was his low budget, brilliant schlocker, and here with Super he takes a stab (literally) at the superhero genre, albeit in his own off kilter and unsettling way. Rainn Wilson, who is off kilter and unsettling himself, is our sad sack protagonist, a dreary nebbish named Frank Darbo, married to a troubled hottie (Liv Tyler) who is way out of his league and adorned with baggage. We soon learn that Frank is very disturbed, when his favourite TV superhero (Nathan Fillion in a brief cameo) informs him he must adorn cape and costume himself in order to fight the injustice in the world. His name? The Crimson Bolt. His weapon of choice? A great big crescent wrench, which he uses very generously to dole out his own extreme brand of justice. His motto? "Shut up, crime!!" (I laughed every time). He's an unconventional 'hero' to say the least, most of his good deeds consisting of brutally attacking citizens with said wrench for minor infractions like butting in line at the cinema, an uproarious scene if your sensibility is twisted enough, but then that's the jist of the whole thing. His longterm goal is to get Tyler back from the clutches of evil drug kingpin Jacques (a hilariously chatty Kevin Bacon), and prevent as many crimes as he can along the way. He ends up causing far more damage than he means to fix though, an awkwardly psychotic tornado of unwarranted violence and delusions of grandeur. Things get more out of hand when he aquires a spitfire of a sidekick named Bolty, played by Ellen Page in a performance that's right out to lunch and then some. Page plays her to the deranged hilt, cackling like a maniac at her own violent antics and getting super uncomfortable with Wilson in the bedroom (seriously… one messed up scene). Gunn can always be counted on to hire interesting actors, so be on the lookout for Linda Cardellini, Andre Royo, Gregg Henry and Michael Rooker as Bacon's lead thug. A lot of what happens here is awkward, cringey stuff, the chronicle of a misplaced and sad little man under the impression that his life has some preordained meaning, as delineated by the red suit. It's a thin shroud to hide the worthless and pathetic existence he has lead so far, and as such it's kind of a depressing thing to bear witness to. But rejoice in how darkly hilarious it is as well, because there's plenty of pitch black humour and perfectly timed comedic moments that spice it up. Gunn understands people and the way they talk (a trait so often lacking in writers), and even with concepts so out in the stratosphere beyond normality, his characters still have their feet on the ground and seem realistic. A treat, if a sourly bittersweet one.