Tweet
2011
Dir. by James Gunn
I didn't really like Kick-Ass but wasn't fully sure as to why. Sure, the main character was pointless and the story moved into ridiculous territory pretty easily and quickly. But it wasn't until I saw Super that I understood what bugged me so much about that other film: It lacked any sort of heart at its center, any investigation into the damaged characters that could become superheroes, anything linking it to anything beyond crass exploitation (“Look, our little girl kills people and uses swear words!).
Super then is the story of Frank, a simple man, a bit of a loser, who loses the love of his life - his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler, who's actually good here) - only to find new purpose in becoming something more in order to get her back. Sarah's a recovering drug addict who is soon back on drugs thanks to her evil new boyfriend, local criminal boss Jacques (Kevin Bacon, playing a far more believably and grounded bad guy than he did in X-Men: First Class, by far). Frank attempts to confront Jacques to get Sarah back but is laughed off and roughed up by Jacques' thugs (including a solid supporting role yet again from Michael Rooker).
Despondent, he then doesn't know what to do until he has a vision that involves the Bible action hero The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) who, in a vision, gives him his credo of, “Some of his children are chosen.†And it's in that vision that Frank gets the idea of fighting crime and taking Jacques down, all in order to save Sarah from evil.
But Frank doesn't know how to start so he heads to his local comic book shop and is quickly befriended by Libby (Ellen Paige, who constantly threatens to steal the show in every scene she's in here). She gives him some good “source material†for superheroes and Frank soon becomes The Crimson Bolt. Armed then with a pipe wrench and a comic book bubble-worthy hero phrase - SHUT UP, CRIME! - he sets out to work clean up the streets and get ready to face Jacques, once and for all.
This doesn't go according to plan, though, but, soon, he's using his alter-ego to very violently stamp out crime, becoming a bit of a local sensation in the process. Libby is soon on to him, though, and becomes his sidekick, Boltie. But her manic personality plays out even more violently than Frank's and he's soon conflicted about having her along. Her admiration soon becomes infatuation as well, making for a tense relationship between the two as they fight crime together. Eventually, though, they work their way to Jacques and have a showdown at his large estate, with much shooting, stabbing and exploding, in order to save Sarah.
What works best about Super, though, is both its consistency in its characters' actions as well as the fact that film doesn't relent, doesn't let anyone have an easy time of it but also lets the characters be whoever they are, good or bad. The sincere humanity not only anchors the story but drives home it's final point, that being super might just be only about being the best person one can be, that what you think you want isn't really what you need, and that there is a way to serve the greater good without losing your identity or your soul.
(Bonus: The film is the first in my memory that features a song by The Nomads in it.)
(Double Bonus: When she's in the Boltie costume Ellen Paige is one of the sexiest characters on screen of all time. I'm not kidding.)
Rating: A-
