Super (2010) starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Andre Royo directed by James Gunn Movie Review

Super (2010)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Rainn Wilson in Super (2010)

Okay

Lost for words, it is not something I often find myself after watching a movie but it is the state I find myself in having watched "Super". For everything I enjoyed about this movie there was something I hated just as much and it is why I am lost for words. It makes it a very unique experience especially when you compare "Super" to other movies about normal guys becoming super heroes especially those which are comedies.

Frank (Rainn Wilson - The Rocker) is just an ordinary sort of guy; he works in a diner as a cook and in his entire life only has two good memories, marrying Sarah (Liv Tyler - The Incredible Hulk) and the day he assisted a cop chasing a bad guy. But Frank's life gets turned upside down when Sarah, a former drug addict, runs off with Jacques (Kevin Bacon - Frost/Nixon). Bewildered by a life without Sarah Frank has a vision and believes his calling is to become a super hero and with the aid of Libby (Ellen Page - Whip It) who works at the comic book store starts his journey into becoming "The Crimson Bolt" who with an aid of a wrench tackles all sort of bad guys. But his antics with a wrench bring him to the attention of the police who think he is a dangerous vigilante.

Ellen Page in Super (2010)

So to split it up "Super" has this unique sort of down beat styling which makes it far more interesting than your normal sort of super hero movie. You could say it is dark in style but it is also unrepentantly funny which makes this styling all the more curious. It also doesn't hold back in trying to be extreme with various scenes of a sexual nature. And it doesn't hold back when it comes to the violence with Frank dispatching people with his wrench in a brutal manner or when one bad guy gets crushed against a wall by a car. It is not just the violence which is extreme as Frank's visions are also extreme.

But for every scene which is entertaining for being quirky such as The Crimson Bolt's first attempts to scale a gate you then get something so quirky that it is too daft. The same with the darkness of the story because you will get something darkly amusing then just strangely dark and almost surreal especially with Franks visions. It is why it is such a roller coaster ride because there are times it is genuinely funny, even clever but it then goes off on a curious tangent and delivers some very surpising scenes.

The good news is that whilst "Super" ends up all over the place the cast is good with Rainn Wilson delivering a brilliantly quirky but downbeat performance as Frank. And Wilson is well supported by a cast which includes Liv Tyler, Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon who brings some cool quirky to his role as Jacques.

What this all boils down to is that "Super" is a curious movie, a complete roller coaster ride of parody and off beat humour which at times is great and at other times dramatically crashes.


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