Kinka Usher
Mistery Men

A few days ago, I stumbled upon this DVD, produced by Kinka Usher and distributed by Uip in 2000. It is the film adaptation of a comic book series created by Bob Burden and published in Flaming Carrot magazine. It seemed quite amusing, although not a top-notch film. Indeed, it is. Mystery Men is a film somewhere between comedy and farce; realistic life scenes are intertwined with impossible moments that still bring a smile to the lips, without requiring a grand cast, spectacular special effects, or various frills.

The story takes place in Champion City, a multicultural, technological metropolis whose official superhero, Captain Amazing, is the classic stereotype of the hyper-technological superhero equipped with rocket boosters and sponsored by various food multinationals (the hero's suit is covered with advertising stickers for Coca Cola, Pepsi, and other products). Forced to face small-time criminals with declining popularity, Captain Amazing (through his alter ego, billionaire Lance Hunt) convinces the asylum doctors to release his arch-nemesis, Casanova Frankenstein (a fantastic Geoffrey Rush). Once free, Casanova Frankenstein blows up the asylum and tricks Captain Amazing himself, trapping him under a fearsome machine called the Molecular Fraculator, capable of melting and distorting the atoms of the entire city.

It is up to a group of aspiring superheroes to save the day: they are Mr. Furious (played by an outstanding Ben Stiller), whose destructive power (which never fully emerges since Mr. Furious is not very bright and cannot insult his enemies) stems from his fury; the Shoveler, a family man whose power is "shoveling like no one else in the world"; Blue Raja, a superhero with an improbable fake English accent who "throws forks and spoons at enemies with deadly precision" (not knives, because it goes against his ethics); the Spleen, whose devastating meteorism incapacitates enemies without escape; the Invisible Boy, who can use his power only when no one is looking at him; the Bowler, a young heroine who skillfully uses a bowling ball containing her father's skull (killed by Tony P, Casanova's henchman); and the Sphinx, a mysterious hero with a penchant for stating the obvious. Aided by the quirky Doctor Heller (inventor of the Insult Gun and other technological traps), these newfound superheroes must save Captain Amazing and the entire city of Champion City from the madness of the enemy.

A film full of gags and funny scenes, in my opinion. Memorable is the talk between Mr. Furious and his colleagues where he explains that Lance Hunt and Captain Amazing are the same person, but the others chime in saying, "but Lance Hunt wears glasses. If he were Captain Amazing, without glasses he wouldn't see anything!" or the raid on Casanova's villa with an old tracked vehicle and the clashes with the villain's men (the Disco Boys, the Rasta-Gangsters, and various other henchmen with folk-inspired names). Despite the presence of some big names, it's a film that doesn't demand too much and should be judged based solely on its simplicity and the laughter it elicits.

MUST-SEE!!