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  • Canister X Movie Review #70: Spider-Man 2 (2004)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Spider-Man 2 (2004)

    Spider-Man 2
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    Spider-Man 2 (2004)
    Written by Alvin Sargent
    Directed by Sam Raimi
    Runtime 127 min.
    5 out of 5

    Who ever said being a superhero would be easy?

    In this second installment in the Spider-Man franchise, Peter Parker has his back against the wall as he tries to juggle life as a student, being best friends with Mary Jane Watson, carrying the guilt of his uncle’s death, freelancing for the Daily Bugle, delivering pizza, and, of course, being ever on-call as your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man.

    No matter how hard he tries, Peter just can’t seem to balance everything at once and the constant sacrifices he makes in his personal life so he can help others wears him down . . . down . . . down . . . until he can’t take it anymore and his spider-powers begin to change.

    Then vanish.

    The timing couldn’t have been worse, either, because Dr. Otto Octavius’s energy device backfired and has fused four robotic arms to his body, their AI worming its way into his brain, controlling him. All they care about is fulfilling their purpose and they don’t care who they have to hurt to recreate the device they were made for.

    Dr. Octopus’s (Doc Ock’s) rampage through New York is met with little resistance until our favorite web-slinger attempts to take him on.

    This movie thrills the inner fanboy much more than its predecessor and officially is my favorite—so far—in the Spider-Man series. This flick carries near start-to-finish classic superhero goodness: stellar aerial battles, eye-popping web-slinging, dual identity troubles, nerd-can’t/won’t-get-the-girl issues, a hardcore villain bent on his mark, trials, sacrifice—all crammed into a-little-over-two-hour movie. But the pacing works and doesn’t feel over cluttered at all.

    You feel for Peter Parker every minute of this film, both when he’s at the top of his game and when he’s at the bottom, and when he loses his spider-powers, your heart sinks and you cry out, “No! Not Peter! His powers are part of who he is. How can you take them away?”

    Tobey Maguire was extremely believable in this film and brought a real depth to Parker that—though was present in the first one—really shone through in this. And Alfred Molina as Doc Ock? Such duality. When you first meet Otto Octavius, he genuinely seems like a nice guy, an almost fatherly figure in a way, but when he loses his project and those he cares about, things switch and he barely resembles the man he once was. Yet deep within, you see him struggling against the mechanical arms that have taken over his body and mind.

    J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson was hilarious as always, and Kirsten Dunst as MJ—there was more maturity in the character this time around and though she still acted kind of “high school-ish,” you also saw someone struggling with who they were—more specifically, trying desperately to reach out to the man she’s fallen for but who is pushing her away.

    Spider-Man 2 thrilled me to pieces. I was there on opening night and I left the theatre all smiles and in a state of disbelief at how downright cool it was. I wasn’t sure if it would top the first one because most sequels—’til that point because the Superman movies and the previous set of Batman films were pretty much what we had to go on except for X2—usually don’t nail it like the first one.

    I was proven wrong.

    This movie rocked so hard I went back a couple more times and bought it on DVD as soon as I could.

    Check this flick out. You’re in for an amazingly cool, web-slinging good time.

    Recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #69: Spider-Man (2002)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Spider-Man (2002)

    Spider-Man
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    Spider-Man (2002)
    Written by David Koepp
    Directed by Sam Raimi
    Runtime 121 min.
    4 out of 5

    This flick was decades in the making. So many legal setbacks forced Spider-Man to bounce from rights holder to rights holder before finally finding a place with Sony to deliver the goods.

    The hype surrounding this movie was astounding. I remember getting my copy of the soundtrack before the movie came out, and not just that, but also a copy of the “Hero” single by Nickelback as well. Seeing Spidey swinging over a golden-bathed New York on its cover got me even more stoked for this film.

    And so, opening night, I went with my dad to check the movie out, my heart pounding with excitement, the previews before the movie taking excruciatingly long.

    Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), geek extraordinaire, gets bitten by a radioactive “super spider” while on a class fieldtrip as he tries to get a picture for the school paper of next-door-neighbour-slash-love-of-his-life Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst). Following a bout of sickness, Peter wakes up the next morning no longer a skinny geek but instead buff and tough, wondering what happened to him. Adding to the weirdness, he’s suddenly able to do things he wasn’t able to do before: no need for glasses; lots of energy; fantastic agility; amazing strength; sticks to walls; shoots sticky white web-things out of his wrists; can sense bad things before they happen. So, like any good teenager with superpowers, he uses them to impress the girl of his dreams, in his case, taking on a spider-like persona in a wrestling match to win some big money to buy a car. While on the way there, he fights with his uncle, Ben, and leaves in a huff, only to later find out the burglar he let get away—who had stolen from the wrestling folks who didn’t pay Peter what he was worth—killed his uncle in an effort to swipe a getaway car.

    Also going on, Norman Osborne (Willem Dafoe) is having trouble with his company and so, in a fit to prove to the military his superhuman formula works so he can sell it to them, he tries it on himself . . . but with dire side effects: the creation of an alternate personality which is eventually dubbed “the Green Goblin.” When things go sour for the company, the board of directors votes him out and Norman goes into full villain mode to exact his revenge.

    Across the city, Peter has learned that with great power comes great responsibility and so avenges his uncle’s death by using his new spider-like powers for good and becomes the Amazing Spider-Man.

    It’s hero versus villain, Spider-Man versus the Green Goblin, in this superheroic slugfest/love story/coming-of-age movie that made the wait for this flick well worth it.

    To be honest, however, the crazy overhype of this movie did put a damper on it for me when I first saw it. Straight up: when I left the theatre opening night I left disappointed. Not that I thought it was awful, not by any means, it was just there was this lingering “Is that it?” feeling that hung over me as I made my way back to the car.

    If anything, Spider-Man is definitely an origin movie, something to set the stage for more to come, giving a rich backstory and atmosphere not just to Peter Parker’s world, but to each of the supporting characters, even J. Jonah Jameson (who J.K. Simmons played brilliantly, by the way).

    The effects were top notch save for a couple moments where you clearly saw that the Peter that was swinging and jumping from rooftop to rooftop was animated. Speaking of the swinging, when Spidey took you up and down through the deep concrete chasms of New York—man, you felt like you were there, swinging along with him. I heard they even developed a “spider-cam” for this movie. Cool. And that heartbreaking scene at the end where Peter turns down MJ? My heart bled for the guy.

    Do I stand by Spider-Man? Absolutely. I saw it again in the theatre, going back with the mindset of “seeing it for what it was,” and I adored it afterward. Out of the three movies in this series so far, it’s my second favorite. As for my favorite-favorite, just read my reviews.

    This was a superhero movie done right, done well and done just plain cool.

    Recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #68: Spawn (1997)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Spawn (1997)

    Spawn
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    Spawn (1997)
    Written by Alan McElroy
    Directed by Mark A.Z. Dippé
    Runtime 96 min.
    3 out of 5

    Seasoned soldier Al Simmons is double-crossed by his boss, Jason Wynn, and is assassinated. Heading straight to Hell, Al cuts a deal with the devil and is sent back to Earth. The catch? It’s five years later and his beloved wife Wanda is married to his best friend. Worse, Al’s rethinking his vow to lead Hell’s war against Heaven. Endowed with the powers of a hellspawn, he not only looks terrible but is hounded by a demented and demonic clown and finds himself at a crossroads as to what to do with these new abilities. Deciding to take his fate into his own hands, Al begins to mark out his own path as Spawn.

    This movie is a CGI extravaganza unlike anything that had ever been seen in a superhero film at the time. Most of the effects are computer, and I mean com-put-er, but those were how effects looked back then so whatever.

    That stuff aside, the movie’s all right. They got Al’s origin right, but really seemed to tame down the gruesome exploits of a hellspawn for mainstream audiences. Realistically, a true Spawn film would be rated R and loaded with language and so much gore that even the most desensitized audiences would cringe.

    Michael Jai White as Spawn worked for me. He was tough, brooding, had the grumbly voice, and the dude knows how to fight! (He’s a real-life martial artist in several disciplines.)

    John Leguizamo as the Clown/Violator was awesome. He was disgusting, funny, rude and was a thorn in Al’s side right from the get-go.

    The story seemed more like an overview versus the thick of Spawn’s mythos. Spawn does have a dense mythology with a lot of players and it’s real hard to get all that into an hour-and-a-half movie. At the same time, they didn’t have a choice but to go short and sweet because Spawn—back then and outside of the comic book universe—was completely unknown. Even now, unless you’re a comic fan, not many people know who he is. Hard to convince a studio to green-light a long Spawn movie.

    On the plus side, this flick is intensely atmospheric and harkens back to Tim Burton’s Batman movies in a lot of ways. There is a sense of Spawn’s world throughout the film and not just, “Oh, this is happening in that city down the block.” Some of the fights were top notch, too, especially the Spawn vs Violator battle when the Clown first reveals his true form. This was new for comic book flicks at the time and should not go unappreciated.

    Maybe Spawn’ll get a second shot at the big screen? There have been rumors of that for years. You never know.

    More superhero movie reviews . . . in a book!


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  • Canister X Movie Review #67: Sky High (2005)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Sky High (2005)

    Sky High
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    Sky High (2005)
    Written by Paul Hernandez, Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle
    Directed by Mike Mitchell
    Runtime 100 min.
    4 out of 5

    Will Stronghold’s parents are the world’s greatest superheroes—the Commander and Jetstream—and his folks are hoping that by him enlisting in the super high school, Sky High, he’ll achieve his full potential and become a great hero himself. Unfortunately, Will doesn’t have any superpowers and must try and make his way out from under his parents’ super shadows and through the trials and tortures of a super high school. When one of the Commander’s old enemies, Royal Pain, surfaces, Will must find it in himself to be the man he was destined to be, and not just become a hero, but a superhero.

    Seriously, Kurt Russell as a superhero? Yes. That is a good idea and I’m dead serious. He’s got the looks, the charm and the coolness factor to pull it off. Turning him into a Superman rip-off makes it even more perfect so I’m totally down with Kurt Russell as the Commander. Throw in Kelly Preston as his wife and fellow super crime fighter Jetstream and you’ve got a match made in super Heaven.

    This movie is a love letter to the genre, featuring all the things that make superheroes great. As said, you got the Superman-type hero in the Commander, the beautiful heroine ala Wonder Woman in Jetstream, and loads of students at Sky High exhibiting all the classic powers throughout the movie, everything from flight to heat vision, to freezing people to superstrength, to shape shifting to superspeed—the list just keeps going. Tell the story from the point-of-view of the Commander and Jetstream’s son, Will (Michael Angarano), and you have the excuse to be on the outside looking in while also taking part in the adventure yourself.

    It’s a simple story, but a good story and, as said, was a love letter to the genre and the tale used to share that letter with viewers was a good one to do it with.

    I’ve also made it no secret in my other reviews that I’m a fan of superhero comedies. Usually, they’re done pretty well and Sky High is no exception. By making these superhero comedies and pulling it off, it goes to show how versatile the superhero genre really is. People generally view superheroes as so one-dimensional—sometimes two-dimensional—and that’s about it. Doing an assortment of super flicks breaks that perception and as a diehard fan of the genre, I’m happy these other variations on men and women in tights are created.

    This movie has fantastic cameos by the likes of Lynda Carter (TV’s Wonder Woman), Bruce Campbell (Evil’s Dead’s Ash—who is kind of a superhero on his own, in a way; I mean, Ash has a chainsaw hand for crying out loud!)—Patrick Warburton as the voice of Royal Pain (Patrick was TV’s the Tick) and a bunch of other familiar faces. Nice.

    Sky High is complete family fun, kid-friendly and is highly recommended for those looking to expand their superhero-movies-I’ve-watched repertoire.

    Go see it. Buy it, borrow it, rent it—just see it. It’s good times.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #66: The Shadow (1994)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Shadow (1994)

    Shadow
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    The Shadow (1994)
    Written by David Koepp
    Directed by Russell Mulcahy
    Runtime 108 min.
    3.5 out of 5

    An avenging force for good and a terror of the criminal underworld, the Shadow operates in New York after dark, but when Shiwan Khan—last descendent of Genghis Khan—comes to the city and plans on world domination, the Shadow must defend the Big Apple from him. When the Shadow refuses to join forces with Khan, the two battle it out with the fate of the city hanging in the balance.

    This flick was my first exposure to the pulp superhero when I was younger. With loads of shadows, gothic ambience, an exciting soundtrack and a hero with the biggest cape I’d ever seen, the Shadow quickly became one of my favorites growing up. I mean, he was kind of like Batman, but had a superpower—he could get into your mind, control you, make you see things that weren’t there and thus become a “shadow.”

    Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston totally worked. He had the cool rough voice, the playboy debonair down to a T, and had an air of mystery about him that suited the character well. Good stuff.

    Action-wise, no complaints. Nothing over-the-top or extremely spectacular, but enough to get the job done. I will say those shots of the Shadow materializing and dematerializing out of view as he fights is especially cool and spooky. I mean, how do you fight what you can’t see?

    The plotline was well thought out, especially because you’re dealing with a hero and villain with mental powers, which isn’t always easy to show people. It all takes place in the head, after all, so depicting the manifestation of these mental powers was well done.

    This movie really had that old radio drama feel to it, which I’m sure was something the filmmakers were going for as The Shadow used to be a radio drama back in the day.

    Some recognizable names in this flick, too: Sir Ian McKellen, Peter Boyle, Tim Curry.

    The Shadow is an excellent foray into the “realistic fantastic” and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for pulpy heroic goodness.

    Check out The Rocketeer for more pulp superhero goodness.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #65: The Rocketeer (1991)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Rocketeer (1991)

    Rocketeer
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    The Rocketeer (1991)
    Written by Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo
    Directed by Joe Johnston
    Runtime 108 min.
    4 out of 5

    When Cliff Secord stumbles upon a rocket pack stashed away in an airplane, him and his friend Peevy soon find themselves on the run from gangsters with ties to the Nazis.

    I saw this back when I was a kid and it’s still one of my favorite superhero flicks, namely because it’s historical, has a very human superhero, and is about flying. I mean, who doesn’t want to fly? Better, who doesn’t want to think they can somehow piece together a rocket pack, strap it on and take to the sky?

    What makes this superhero movie different is it’s not about a guy going around and helping people while trying to juggle a secret identity and, later, ultimately facing off against a supervillain. Instead, it’s about someone who has something the bad guys want and spends all his time running from them, occasionally helping people along the way. So while true the standard superhero “ingredients” are there, they’re presented outside of the standard formula thus setting this flick apart. Couple that with it taking place in the past during a simpler time—a classier time, too—and you’ve got a memorable movie.

    I like how they also blended real life history into this, namely bringing in Howard Hughes as the designer of the rocket pack. Very cool. Throw in a Nazi as a main villain and you’ve got some solid Good vs Evil going on. Speaking of which, Timothy Dalton as Neville Sinclair the Nazi was awesome. He was super evil in this and once you found out who he really was you just hated the guy. You gotta love villains you can hate and feel justified in doing so.

    There was certainly a pulpy feel to this movie, which is good, as the Rocketeer is an old time hero, a pulp hero, in fact. They kept that element alive, even so far as having him go up against a giant goon with a unique visage. Reminded me of the Dick Tracy villains. Sweet.

    If you dig pulp heroes, The Rocketeer is definitely recommended viewing. Go see for yourself.

    For similar viewing, check out this review of The Green Hornet.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #64: The Punisher (2004)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Punisher (2004)

    Punisher
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    The Punisher (2004)
    Written by Jonathan Hensleigh and Michael France
    Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh
    Runtime 124 min.
    4.5 out of 5

    Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) has just completed his final mission with the FBI: posing as European arms dealer Otto Krieg to lure Bobby Saint—son of crime boss Howard Saint (John Travolta)—into a deal and eventually put him away. A shootout ensues and Bobby is killed. Frank retires and heads down to Florida on vacation with his family. When Howard Saint discovers Frank’s true identity and that “Krieg” didn’t die in the shootout, he sends a team of men to take out Frank’s family as payback for killing his son. Howard Saint’s men kill everyone including, they think, Frank. But Frank survives—barely—and soon gets well enough to punish Howard and his family slowly and painfully in an effort to balance the scales of justice.

    I’m a huge fan of this movie despite there being a big divide amongst fans about it. Personally, it hit home to me on a lot of levels and this is why I love it. It’s a story of tragedy and pain, things going south in a big way, and one man trying to make things right the only way he knows how. What especially impressed me was the overall feel of the film and how that reflected Frank’s journey from family man to broken man to Punisher. In the beginning, everything is happy, cheery, colorful, and then once all are killed, suddenly the tone goes bleak, it’s all grays and browns and blacks, and everything becomes ultra serious. Even the humorous bits are done in a serious manner.

    I also liked the glimpses into the lives of the others in Frank’s apartment building: Joan (Rebecca Romijn), Bumpo (John Pinette) and Spacker Dave (Ben Foster). To be honest, I don’t know how true they were to their comic book counterparts as I haven’t read them, but as portrayed on film, I liked them as characters and had a soft spot for each of them as I saw bits and pieces of others I once knew inside them.

    Back to Frank, Thomas Jane played it in spades. He was depressed, brooding, angry, idealistic, righteous and distraught all at the same time. He brought each of these elements to the fore whenever they were best called upon and went beyond just a gun-wielding vigilante. He would’ve made an excellent Batman should he have ever been offered the role.

    When I saw him as the Punisher again in the fan film, Dirty Laundry, I cheered him on the whole way through and felt like I was back at home in Frank Castle’s life, walking with him as he dealt with the pain of losing everyone he’d ever loved while once again rising to the call of duty because he was needed.

    Frank’s inspiring speech in The Punisher about sometimes the law being inadequate gets every fanboy pumped up and cheering, and while I find it hard to believe Frank’s motive is only punishment and not vengeance, it’s still a memorable moment in the film.

    This flick is one of my favorites and is highly recommended.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #63: Planet Hulk (2010)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Planet Hulk (2010)

    Planet Hulk
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    Planet Hulk (2010)
    Written by Greg Johnson
    Directed by Sam Liu
    Runtime 81 min.
    3 out of 5

    An ancient prophecy. An exiled hero. One battle after another.

    Hulk has been banished into space by the Illuminati. The reason? He’s simply too dangerous, too powerful and too unpredictable. Upon landing on the planet Sakaar, Hulk is taken captive and is forced to compete as a gladiator for the people’s entertainment. With no choice but to fight, Hulk must battle his way free, and not only for himself, but for an entire kingdom under the rule of an unpleasant emperor. Is Hulk the one foretold to come to usher in an era of peace?

    I don’t know, man. This flick wasn’t really my thing, to be honest. It was a kind of Star Wars meets superhero thing that, while kind of interesting, didn’t really thrill me as a superhero fan.

    But first, the pluses:

    Loads of action. Hulk is fighting people pretty much all the time in this movie, and not only simply fighting them, but having to struggle against those nearly as powerful as himself. You don’t often see him doing that.

    The sci-fi aspect was different and by having the story not take place on Earth, you got to see something that isn’t presented all too often in superhero flicks and/or cartoons.

    The minuses (for me):

    Hulk was the smart Hulk in this movie. Not the genius-level one, but he formed complete sentences, had genuine feelings, and wasn’t a big ball of rage like in Hulk vs. I’m a fan of the latter. I like the Hulk-smash Hulk. Not quite stupid, but certainly simple-minded, and an all-out force of meta-nature. Seeing him pretty much be a big green human wasn’t really my thing. I know others like that version of Hulk, which is fine, but I like the other one better.

    The pacing was slow as well, with flashbacks that seemed to bog it down versus add to it. I know why they had them, but they didn’t really add to the tale and those scenes could’ve been simply mentioned versus shown.

    Art’s subjective, but the cartooning style of this flick wasn’t up my alley. Whatever. It’s a minor point.

    Wish I could say more about it, but this Hulk outing didn’t grab me like The Incredible Hulk or Hulk vs.

    However, if you’re a Hulk fan, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it for that reason, and if you like the more intelligent Hulk, you’ll have a good time for sure.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #62: The Phantom (1996)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    The Phantom (1996)

    Phantom
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    The Phantom (1996)
    Written by Jeffrey Boam
    Directed by Simon Wincer
    Runtime 100 min.
    3.5 out of 5

    A ship taken over by pirates. The death of a father. A young boy thrown overboard. Washing up on the shore of the Island of Bengalla. A strange ritual and a vow. When that boy grew up and became a man, he became the Phantom.

    Centuries later, this boy’s descendant—the 21st Phantom (Billy Zane)—is protecting his beloved jungle when thieves steal a sacred skull from a lost treasure trove. The Phantom learns the significance of the skull and discovers it is one of three and should someone ever possess all three, they would have ultimate power. Trailing the stolen skull to New York, the Phantom, now under his civilian guise of Kit Walker, seeks to track down the remaining skulls. While there, he reconnects with his old flame, Diana Palmer (Kirsty Swanson), and the two need to reconcile past differences while Kit learns the location of the second skull. Meanwhile, evil businessman Xander Drax (Treat Williams), in cahoots with the Sengh Brotherhood, a band of pirates—the descendants of the same pirates that were responsible for sinking the ship of the father of the first Phantom—wants the skulls for himself. Drax, too, discovers the location of the second skull at the same time Kit and Diana do and after a failed attempt at disposing of Kit, kidnaps Diana and takes her to the location of the third: an uncharted island.

    Good confronts Evil when the Phantom seeks to rescue Diana while also stopping Drax and the Sengh Brotherhood from uniting the three skulls and becoming a powerful force in the world.

    Phantom lore is fascinating, especially the idea that he never dies, or, at least, that’s what criminals and evildoers everywhere think. The Ghost Who Walks has been around since 1936, which predates Superman, making the Phantom one of the earliest superheroes.

    I remember seeing trailers for this flick back when it first came out and getting all excited. It was a superhero, swashbuckling adventure. Even saw it in the theatre. On that day I was running a bit behind. If I remember right, I missed the previews and came in right when the movie was starting. The first words I saw were the words that kicked off the film, “For those who came in late.” I really thought the movie somehow knew I was late—or people like me—because then it went into a recap of the Phantom’s origin before launching into the main story. Ahh, to be a young, gullible fanboy again.

    This movie was clean, wholesome superhero fun. There was a decent story, superhero action, humor and adventure, with a little romance thrown in. It didn’t take itself seriously, but wasn’t a giant camp-fest either. I still pop it in the DVD now and then and enjoy The Phantom as a nice break from the oh-so-heavy-drama-laden superhero movies of today. Sometimes you just want to see a good guy busting bad guys and that’s it.

    Nowadays, this movie falls short in a few places—the “wow factor,” the costume, the life-or-death-save-the-world-or-die storylines—but I was happy with Billy Zane’s portrayal of the Phantom and with the movie as a whole. I’ve never read any of the comics so my view is completely on the flick and it being a simple superhero story. I will say that this movie has stirred in me an interest in the Phantom and am thinking of one day getting into the comics that spawned him.

    The movie is definitely kid-friendly and as a parent who doesn’t let his kids watch a good chunk of today’s superhero flicks due to their mature content, this is one I’d recommend for families or those just looking for a break from the more grownup, adult-oriented superhero movies of today.


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  • Canister X Movie Review #61: Mystery Men (1999)

    Posted on by A.P. Fuchs

    Mystery Men (1999)

    Mystery Men
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    Mystery Men (1999)
    Written by Neil Cuthbert
    Directed by Kinka Usher
    Runtime 121 min.
    4 out of 5

    Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) is the hero of Champion City, but when he’s kidnapped by the evil Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush), a ragtag team of wannabe superheroes must rise to the occasion and thwart Casanova’s plan before it’s too late. That is, if they don’t screw things up first.

    If there ever was a Seinfeld of superhero movies, this would be it. What I mean is, it’s a blend of everyday people doing super stuff while still dealing with the mundane of everyday life. The humor is overt in some places ala Kramer, and utterly-subtle-yet-brilliant in others (i.e. When the Shoveler hosts a superhero recruitment party in his backyard, his wife tells him she’ll divorce him if one person vomits in their pool and he replies deadpan: “That’s fair.”).

    This movie was a strange hybrid of wannabe-superheroes-from-our-world living in a comic book world. Normally, those two “realities” don’t collide in superhero stories, but they did here and thus became the crux of the story: guys and girls who want to be heroes but don’t have the chops to cut it in a reality where you need to be super to survive.

    At the same time, Mystery Men was meant to be a comedy as the rogues gallery were very ’60s Batman: the Frat Boys, the Disco Boys, the Suits, and others. Strangely, they were led by a leader who was much more competent and had the smarts to devise a plausible plan to take over the city.

    As a comic book and superhero fan, I appreciated the nods to comicdom and its characters, namely when they discuss how Lance Hunt couldn’t be Captain Amazing because: “Lance Hunt wears glasses, Captain Amazing doesn’t wear glasses.” Nice commentary on the how-does-anyone-not-know-Clark-Kent-is-Superman debate.

    The casting is perfect. Ben Stiller as Mr. Furious, William H. Macy as the Shoveler, Paul Reubens as the Spleen, Janeane Garofalo as the Bowler, Hank Azaria as the Blue Raja, Kel Mitchell as Invisible Boy and Wes Studi as the Sphinx. They all played it straight, which was what sold it given that they’re really ridiculous characters—farting as a superpower?—and made you feel for these guys and cheer them on as they bumbled their way through their adventure.

    I’ve said it before that I like lighthearted superhero movies, and what makes this one work is that while it’s a comedy, it’s not a parody like Superhero Movie, for example. It’s just simply fun.

    And fun is good.

    Recommended.


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