Forget about Batman. The Crimson Bolt is now my hero. This movie was so great and they did such a great job for the limited budget they had. The story was touching and heartbreaking. I also enjoyed the amount of dark humor and comedy that came out too. Not to mention the violence that added to the point that you "Don't butt!" Rainn Wilson's character Frank D'Arbo touched my heart as well. So far the best character he has played in a long time. Also Ellen was fantastic as Libby. I loved her awkward, psychotic demeanor, it was a perfect collaboration. I wish I could give it an extra 5 stars.
Naturally, I was looking forward to Super, Gunn's take on the D.I.Y. superhero a la Kick Ass and the Watchmen graphic novel (the film took liberties with the abilities of what were supposed to be normal people + 1 superbeing). Even with high expectations, the film blew me away. Unable to see it in the theater due to my market, I was nonetheless allowed the privilege of seeing it through IFC OnDemand's "In Theaters" category, and was not disappointed. Gunn's trademark profanity laced insanity is certainly present -Ellen Page's psychopathic sidekick Libby would fit into any one of Gunn's films -but also present is the heart of his more sophisticated works like Slither. Sophisticated is an odd word to use when talking about films that feature tentacle rape scenes or holy roller superhero hallucination scenes, but there it is. What's special about Super is that on this outing, the gratuitous insanity or sexual issues are turned down (while still present) and the heart gets turned up, as well as the emotional resonance. Even the arguably craziest scene in the film, where Rain Wilson's Frank experiences a tentacular brain rape from God, is powerful and moving in a disturbing sort of way. This is no doubt in some part due to Gunn being a sufferer of a rare and real condition whereby he has experienced strange visions at random intervals all his life. The violence is over-the-top to be sure, but serves an emotional purpose as well as a comedic one. By the end of the film, you will find yourself rooting for a man who has been driven to a violent, clearly insane depth in his life, despite the fact that you would never want to meet him. Super may just be James Gunn's masterpiece: violent, trashy, crazy, hilarious, sad, real, and triumphant.Teaming up once more after a 4 year haitus, Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page play quite a different couple than they did in 2007's indie teen pregnancy-smash Juno. Their relationship this time around is more "inappropriate", as Wilson's "Crimson Bolt" (or more, appropriately, his self-loathing alter-ego Frank) might put it. Before the movie is over, Page takes control of Wilson in ways that won't be printed here both for fear of ruining some surprises and probably alienating some friendly Amazon readers. The relationship between the hapless and largely unhinged Frank and the cute/absolutely sociopathic (and ruthlessly salacious) sidekick Boltie is only one of the specific elements of James Gunn's film that leave a lacerating and darkly humorous impression for days after.
The film's principle arc is a simple revenge/improvement-of-self plot. Rainn Wilson is fed up with getting peed on--figuratively and literally, as a skin-crawlingly whimsical pre-credits montage shows us, so he sets out to get revenge on all the 'bad' people of the world. For a long time, he uses a simple pipe wrench, administering skull-cleavings that gradually ratchet up (har) as the action progresses. Before long, the film becomes incredibly brutal. The tone, not unlike Matthew Vaughn's recent and decidedly more mainstream Kick-Ass, is a consistently shifting entity, roaming from ferocious and dark to uplifting and righteously cheerful in a matter of seconds. It is, in retrospect, more akin to the bold bevy of splatter-flicks Peter Jackson churned out Pre-Lord of the Rings, particularly Dead Alive--to which some of the gore effects in Super seem to draw, though not to quite the same level of pandemonium.
Violence is, without a doubt, at the core of Super, a far more dangerous and exploitative film than Kick-Ass, at least with regard to way in which the audience is meant to view the deranged protagonists. Wilson and Page have their hearts in somewhat of the right place, though their methods are absolutely extreme, in keeping, one imagines, with the lacking constraints of an ostensibly Comical universe. Limbs are blown apart, skulls are cracked, gooey gunshot wounds, an immolation, an exploding body and a smashed in skull rivaling the one administered by Ryan Gosling recently in Drive abound. For the most part, these effects are entirely practical, drawing up obvious influence from director Gunn's early work for infamous underground production company, TROMA--which groomed such auteurs as Zack Synder whose CGI-laden films have drawn large crowds of dense milling fanboys, particularly his recent technically-impression but greatly meandering Suckerpunch. Unlike Snyder, who is roaring into the mainstream and forgetting the elements of his Troma roots he carried into his phenomenal remake of Dawn of the Dead, Gunn has maintained with Super a commitment to making alienating, beautifully-shot and epically violent films whose moral centers are grounded in deep criminal delusion....and whose incredibly enthralling advances are incredibly difficult to deny. The film will likely force you to entertain it, then give itself some much needed relief when you find yourself loving every second it lavishes upon you...much in the same way as Ellen Page does on that fateful ride atop the queasy and resisting hero rising from darkness of his own creation.
Read Best Reviews of Super (2011) Here
Super is very different from your usual superhero movie. It is a dark comedy and extremely violent. Frank D'Arbo (Rainn Wilson) is essentially a below average human being, who turns himself into a superhero in order to fight crime. However, his methods are questionable to say the least and that is where the violence comes into play. Frank gets overly violent for petty crimes, but it is his moral belief that he is doing good. This is where the film shines because it is what makes Frank an interesting and complex character. You could say Super is a character study in a sense. You actually sympathize with Frank because you understand that he is somebody who has a very tough life and his fuse has blown. This added with lots of hilarious bits is what makes the film great. The humor isn't so much dark humor as it is just humor surrounded by violence and a somewhat dark theme. So I think the comedy will appeal to a wide audience. Like most indie films, Super is like a breath of fresh air. Definite recommend.god, "super" is an excellent movie. it's just so deliriously dark, hysterical, sad, violent, gory, and smart. riffing on the current superhero zeitgeist, super has much more in common with the 1980 john ritter film "hero at large" then it does with "kick-ass".telling the tale of jilted every-man sad-sack frank, "super" is a lesson in dedication, human frailty, and strength of spirit. rainn wilson is perfect, and for the first time, i was able to see him as someone other than dwight schrute. the man can act, and at times watching him in this movie is somewhat uncomfortable, so raw and exposed are his shortcomings and his grief. but his strength of purpose and resilience are also on display, and rainn is quite believable in this role. ellen page kind of steals the show with her totally hilarious, scary, sexy, energetic portrayal of boltie, who is a little too gung ho to be wilson's superhero side kick. page is so delightfully manic in this movie, that it takes a few viewings to realize that she is kind of to be feared. but she, like frank, is also sad and "living in between the panels." excellent support from andre royo, liv tyler, kevin bacon, and nathan fillion make "super" truly super.
i really, really love james gunn. he's got a wonderful point of view, and i want more. "super" is an excellent example of why gore is good, why we need it, how excessive gore is sometimes necessary, and how it can emotionally impact the viewing experience. the end of super is just beautiful. smart commentary on religion, the nature of good and evil, and loyalty and faith, super is just delightful.
"super" really moved me, and i appreciate its' humor, darkness, and sadness. much of gunn's work is like this--funny, dark, and sad--and it's a nice cocktail for me. his work speaks to and affects me. i want more...
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