Rated R (Scenes of Graphic Violence,
Language, Some Sexual Content and Drug Use)
Running Time: 1 Hour & 36 Minutes
Cast-
Rainn Wilson-Frank D'Arbo/The Crimson Bolt
Ellen Page-Libby/Boltie
Liv Tyler-Sarah Helgeland
Kevin Bacon-Jacques
Nathan Fillion-The Holy Avenger
Gregg Henry-Detective John Felkner
Andre Royo-Hamilton
Michael Rooker-Abe
Sean Gunn-Toby
Stephen Blackehart-Quill
Don Mac-Mr. Range
Rob Zombie (voice)-God
Directed by James Gunn
 |
| Before the Guardians of the Galaxy, there was...the Crimson Bolt! |
James Gunn’s latest film, “Super,” is all
kinds of f*cked up in that it makes “Kick-Ass” look like it was made for
babies. While both bear some passing similarities in their exploration of
ordinary, everyday people dressing up as superheroes, Gunn’s film is a
different beast altogether as it’s not afraid to offend and push the envelope.
Gleefully hilarious with its dark comedy and shockingly brutal violence,
“Super” unfortunately falls short due to its disjointed tone, leaving its
themes ultimately muddled.
Frank D'Arbo (Rainn Wilson) is an oddball
loser who works as a short-order fry cook at a local diner. As indicated by his
color-penciled drawings, the two happiest moments in his life is his marriage
to Sarah (Liv Tyler) and when he assisted a police officer in apprehending a
purse-snatcher. However, Frank’s life comes crashing down when his wife, a
recovering drug addict/alcoholic, relapses into her old ways and leaves him for
Jacques (Kevin Bacon), a strip club owner and drug dealer. He does everything
to try to get his wife back but all it gets him is a butt-whooping by Jacques’
goons. After praying one night, Frank has a surreal dream where he is literally
touched by the finger of God and meets a television superhero called the ‘Holy
Avenger’ (Nathan Fillion). Taking this as a sign to battle evil, Frank creates
a homemade costume and calls himself ‘The Crimson Bolt!’ His motto: ‘SHUT UP,
CRIME!’ His first foray into crime-fighting ends in disaster and he goes to the
local comic book store to research on superheroes without any powers. He picks
a giant pipe wrench as his weapon and brutally beats up criminals, no matter
how small their crime. Frank’s goal is to use his costumed persona to take down
Jacques and get his wife back. Things get even crazier when the comic book
store clerk, Libby (Ellen Page), teams up with Frank as his kid sidekick
‘Boltie.’
“Super” is all kinds of crazy rolled into
one. “Watchmen” explored the thin line between hero and sociopath but this film
just kicks that line to the curb and revels in its violence. Once Frank puts on
the suit and becomes the Crimson Bolt, he just loses it as he whacks people
with his pipe wrench or dropping cinder blocks on their faces, screaming,
‘Don’t steal, don’t deal drugs, and don’t molest kids!’ Frank takes this so
seriously that when he sees someone cutting the line at the movie theater, he
suits up and gives him a good ol’ trashing. When a woman comes to defend the
person, she gets hit in the face too! It’s all hysterical stuff yet slightly
uncomfortable, and I like the fact that Gunn is unafraid to pull his punches.
Libby one-ups Frank in sheer craziness once she becomes Boltie, cackling
manically as they deal with criminals. At one point, she repeatedly stabs
someone with claws resembling X-23 and dressed in nothing but her bra and
pants, she slams a car into a thug about to shoot Frank, breaking his legs. Her
immense joy at doing this cannot be described! She definitely has a couple of
screws loose and that’s already a big
understatement. Ultimately, Frank becoming a mentally unhinged superhero is his
way of dealing with his wife leaving him and his sudden loneliness. He did
everything right but is unable to see what went wrong in his marriage. Being
the Crimson Bolt gives him a temporary sense of purpose, a measure of control
over his directionless life but after getting his wife back, then what? Did it
ever occur to him that she may not him back? Gunn tries to walk the fine line
between dark comedy and drama but does not entirely succeed, leaving many of
its themes buried under a sea of violence. The constant tonal shifts gives
“Super” a disjointed feel as it is unable to decide whether it wants to be a
dark superhero satire or an exploration into a person’s total nervous
breakdown.
The film is filled with some great
performances and Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from NBC's "The Office")
is perfect as Frank D'Arbo. There’s a bit of Schrute in Frank with his deadpan
delivery but Wilson digs deeper to find the right mixture of quirky desperation
and loneliness that actually makes us sympathize with him. Ellen Page has been
typecast in ‘smart aleck’ roles but here she’s something totally different and
takes the psychotic angle to the max, stealing the film. Libby is a lonely soul
like Frank and her scenes where she clumsily tries to seduce him are funny and
a little sad. She pokes her…lady-parts and remarks, ‘It’s all gushy!’ and
practically rapes Frank but it’s presented in a tongue-in-cheek way. I must
also say that she looks quite sexy in spandex. Kevin Bacon is always good in
any role and it’s no different here as slime-ball Jacques. The weakest link is
Liv Tyler, who isn’t convincing as a recovering drug addict; she’s just…too
good-looking. Nathan Fillion, who starred in Gunn’s “Slither” back in 2006,
also makes an appearance as a ridiculous Christian-themed superhero called the
Holy Avenger. There are a few jabs at Christianity but in a rare instance, the
jokes end up falling flat.
“Super” premiered at the Toronto
International Film Festival on September 10, 2010 and is in limited release
since April 1, 2011. If you live in New York City, the film is only playing in
two theaters and will hit video-on-demand on April 13. Reviews have been mixed
with 44% on Rotten Tomatoes as critics found the tone wildly uneven. Made on a
small budget of approximately $2.5 million, “Super” is rough around the edges
and will most likely break even once it arrives on Blu-Ray and DVD. It didn’t
seem like many were interested as the theater only had about twenty to thirty
people. “Super” is not for everyone and most will be put-off or outright
offended at its violence. Gunn is unable to maintain a consistent tone but
there’s enough to like in this twisted little film to give it eventual cult
status.
Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5
“SHUT UP, CRIME!”
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