Come Friday, the first movie of 2012 that I am genuinely excited to see shall arrive in theaters. To celebrate the potentially misguided hopes that Chronicle will be a fantastic ‘superhero’ movie, I am going to recommend a few other super duper films that feature unconventional heroes and villains. The unconventional part means that none of them are popular comic-book characters. No movie on this list comes from properties owned by the big guys like Marvel/DC/Image/etc.
Super – Super is a superhero film only in the most loosely defined sense. Yes, there’s a guy who wears a superhero costume, and yes there’s a sidekick. There’s also a catch phrase and a villain. That’s where the similarities end.
Your hero is Frank (Rainn Wilson) whose only special power seems to be delusion, and he ‘fixes’ bad guys by bashing them in the face with a pipe wrench while shouting his catchphrase, "Shut up, crime!". At one point the neighborhood comic book geek, Libby (Ellen Page), finds out and demands to be his sidekick.
The only reason Frank becomes a superhero in the first place is to try and get his drug-addicted wife, Sarah (Liv Tyler) out of the clutches of her new dealer/boyfriend Jacques (Kevin Bacon), whose heroin is totally worth sticking around for, apparently. Since Jacques isn't the kind of guy who just hands over what he rightfully stole, Frank needs to become more than just a schlubby, middle-aged loser. Also, Nathan Fillion plays The Holy Avenger, and that alone is worth your time.
Throw in lots of uncomfortable scenes, dark, awkward humor and unhappy endings for almost everyone involved and you’ve got yourself the sort of superhero film that does NOT get watched at drinking parties.
Sky High – Shooting off in a completely different direct, we have Sky High. It’s a teenage coming-of-age story that happens to involve super powers and was a surprise hit in the mid-2000’s. It is definitely a film worth checking out.
Sky High follows Will (Michael Angarano), the son of two of the most popular, powerful superheroes in the world as he starts freshman year at the superhero/villain high school, conveniently hidden a mile up in the clouds. (Get it? Sky High? Eh? Eh?) Of course, to make matters even worse than just being a freshman, he’s also manifested no super powers. Time to navigate a school filled with heroes, villains, friends, enemies and bullies while also being totally lame and only cut out for sidekick duty!
What really makes this movie stand out is the fact that it expertly mixes action, comedy and drama, plus it has believable teen characters, Bruce Campbell AND half the cast of The Kids in the Hall.
Hancock – Out of all the films on the list, this one is easily the most recognizable. It starred a well-known Will Smith and should still be fresh on people's minds since it came out just a few short years ago. While not nearly the best movie on this list, it had one of the most interesting plots: The only person on the planet with super powers has no idea who he really is or where he got them, and he’s a raging asshole.
In my opinion, Hancock has a terrible reveal and a ridiculous ending, but the first half of the movie is absolutely fantastic, and it’s still a fun movie overall. Having a PR director for a superhero is a very modern idea. While I wish it was explored a little deeper, maybe with a little more of an adult mindset than the movie displayed overall, it was just nice to see that side of superhero-dom addressed. Seriously, real-life superheroes would have an advertising budget and PR firm. Definitely.
The Specials – Ahh, The Specials. Easily my favorite movie on this list, it was shown to me by a coworker in 2002 when I was stationed in Kadena. A movie so good that I actually stayed sober the entire time I watched it. (For those of you who were 21 years old, in the military and overseas all at the same time, you’ll understand how impressive that is.)
The Specials follows America’s sixth or maybe seventh best superhero team in the world as they do….absolutely nothing for a day. Ostensibly a movie about superheroes, it digs deeply into how a group of supremely gifted individuals are still human beings at heart. Just because you can shoot lasers out of your hands, communicate with birds, or exist in 8 separate people simultaneously doesn’t mean that you don’t have problems and emotions, damnit.
What makes this film so good is the realistic humor depicted throughout. A married couple is having relationship problems, one hero is having an attack of crisis, another is trying to fit in. They’re problems you would witness in any normal movie, but The Specials manages to combine the super and the mundane into a genuinely fun, funny film.
Orgazmo – For those of you who want your superheroes to be a bit more straight-laced, Joe Young is your man! A young, happy Mormon who just wants to raise enough money to marry his girlfriend at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Joe Young is the perfect image of a clean-cut American male.
Unfortunately, he gets tricked into being a porn star.
Mind you, he doesn’t have to do any sex scenes. They have a stunt cock for that. However, because of his martial arts abilities, he’s the perfect man to play Orgazmo, the stunning, sexually prolific superhero that every lady in porn wants to 'work with.' When Joe wants out, the director isn’t so willing to let him break his contract. Plus, Ron Jeremy does all his own stunts.
Does it surprise you that this comes from the minds of Trey Parker and Matt Stone?
Mystery Men – I’ll be honest. The first time I saw Mystery Men, I didn’t really get it. After two more viewings as I got older, one by chance and one intentional, I realized that, holy shit...Mystery Men is pretty damn fun.
Now, I know that the Mystery Men appeared in a comic book before the film occurred, but I’ll make an exception for two reasons. First, the comic wasn’t very well known in mainstream circles. Secondly, fuck you it’s a good movie that’s worth your time.
Mystery Men is a lot like The Specials in that it doesn’t feature a particularly GOOD group of superheroes. However, when the city’s biggest hero gets captured, it’s up to a group of brave heroes whose talents aren’t particularly spectacular to save the day.
Also like a lot of other movies on this list, Mystery Men blends humor, drama, and an excellent cast of characters into something likeable. Considering that many of the people in the film are intentionally made to be misguided, dumb, or even downright annoying, the overall likeability of the final product is a testament to the filmmakers and the cast.
The Incredibles – If you haven’t seen this movie yet then you are a terrible person and have no soul.
Superhero movies that I’ve seen but don’t recommend – My Super Ex Girlfriend, Jumper, Zoom.
Superhero movies I haven’t seen but need to, and please don’t hate me – Unbreakable, Darkman, Megamind
What did I miss? What do you disagree/agree with? Are you with me on hoping that Chronicle is good?
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