Review of Mystery Men

Introduction

I remember the days of my childhood (just!). Running down to the local newsagent to grab the latest copy of Batman, Spiderman or Superman comic. Imagining that I had the requisite power to scale buildings with a gadget from my make-believe utility belt. Being able to trap villains in my spider-web or maybe just fly alongside a 747. We’ve had our far share of superhero movies along the way, some more successful than others. What we’ve yet to have is an effective superhero-team movie. And so it was with some degree of excitement as I grabbed my remote and settled down to re-live some of those wasted years as a make-believe superhero.

This rag-tag group of social dropouts are this season`s new superheroes. A quick rundown of the team reads like a who`s who of nut cases. There`s ‘Mr Furious’, the leader of the gang; `The Spleen`, who`s superpower stems from his gaseous backside; the `Blue Raja` who is a master of warfare with cutlery; the `Invisible Boy` who is only invisible when you don`t look at him; `The Shoveler` who, well, shovels; `The Bowler` who`s bowling ball contains the skull of her deceased father and `The Sphinx` who eventually takes on the exceedingly difficult job of training the team.

The film begins with the city`s existing superhero, `Captain Amazing` saving the city`s resident old folk from an attack from `The Red Eye Gang`. But it is becoming obvious that he is becoming a victim of his own success as he is rapidly running out of super-villains to defeat. His major sponsors are becoming despondent with his lack of headline-grabbing victories and a crisis looms for our hero.

So a plan is hatched that will free his arch nemesis from the city`s asylum and return him back into circulation. This will serve to grab the attention of the city, return Captain Amazing to favour with his sponsors and save him from the superhero scrap heap.

Cassanova Frankenstein, however, has other plans for when he comes out of `retirement`...

Video

This tongue-in-cheek celebration of the world of the superhero has been lovingly created and filmed. The anamorphic 1.85 transfer is top-notch with no visible artifacting or graining. The image is sharp and the colours deep with no loss of detail. The occasionally dim pictures in the film cause no contrast problems, with blacks coming out deep and well detailed.

CGI effects occur mainly in the finale, when they tend to be slightly over-used as is the case with many movies of this type. Having said that, they are effective and of very good quality.

Audio

The Dolby Digital audio is clear and effective, with some good surround effects throw in to enhance the visuals. The soundtrack contains some classic 70’s disco hits and to see Eddie Izzard strut his funky stuff to the Bee Gee’s is almost worth the admission price alone!

In the surround effects department there are some good moments; one particularly effective scene is where ‘The Bowler’ launches her ball and we eventually see (and hear) it as it hurtles toward the screen...

Features

The disk is well-endowed with extra features, although the main menu is not as well animated as I would have hoped. It is clear and effective however. There is a commentary track featuring the director Kinka Usher that is interesting and informative. There’s also the usual spotlight on location report, a collection of deleted scenes, a soundtrack presentation where you can choose to hear (and see) the key musical set-pieces from the film (Eddie Izzard again!).

We also have some music videos of questionable quality (why-oh-why didn’t they include the Bee Gee’s or the other great 70’s tunes). There’s also an interesting feature on the origin of the Mystery Men that looks at how the characters were developed from their Dark Horse comic-book equivalents. Production notes are also featured and the theatrical trailer is included to complete a well-rounded package.

For our DVD-ROM equipped computer friends, they have lots to enjoy also. Maybe install some new screensavers, read about the background to the film, read a location report, play a Shockwave-powered jigsaw puzzle (bit disappointing), or just look through the comic book gallery. There are also links to the Universal web sites and their DVD partner, Panasonic. Overall, quite a nice collection of items.

Conclusion

The acting is generally very good, with the three key players of the team putting real feeling into their respective super-roles. Ben Stiller’s performance as `Mr Furious`, in particular, is superb and his energy and enthusiasm cannot be faulted. I would however question the inclusion of The Spleen (who gets very annoying very quickly and has a ridiculous voice) and the Invisible Boy (who unfortunately is badly-acted and just not funny).

But the real problem with the film comes, however, with the timing of the plot and the length of some of the jokes.
With this type of film, there needs to be a good flow of well-timed humour (especially as it runs for just over the 2 hour mark). Some of the key comic moments are just too drawn out and the film suffers from a lack of gusto in the middle. However, a knockdown one-liner is never too far away and the good points certainly outweigh the bad.

As a summer popcorn movie, this ranks alongside the likes of Deep Blue Sea in sheer entertainment value and is basically really good fun.

As ‘The Shoveler’ is keen to point out, `We are not your classic heroes, we`re the good guys.`