Superhero Movie (Extended Edition) (2008)

SUPERHERO MOVIE bombed at the box office, but as a lifelong fan of the genre and movies like AIRPLANE, TOP SECRET, and NAKED GUN, I felt almost compelled to watch it. I doubt there will ever be another breakthrough spoof movie due to the fact that now there are so many of them. During the eighties and nineties, spoof movies came out every other year or so, now they come out every other month (Scary, Date, Epic, Disaster, etc). SUPERHERO MOVIE is not a great movie within the spoof genre, but it provides many good laughs and returns to the roots of what made the movies like Airplane and Naked Gun so great.

The DVD has a feature called "Anatomy of a Spoof" that among other things, gives director Craig Mazin's (a Zucker protégé and fan) philosophy of spoof movies. First, the actors need to play it straight, and second, the movie needs to have characters you care about and create an actual story within the genre you are trying to spoof. It this movie, all the actors play it straight. Drake Bell is Rick Ryker, the Peter Parker clone who gets bit by a Dragonfly and gets superpowers. Sara Paxton plays the love interest. Christopher McDonald is the evil Hourglass. Leslie Neilsen is the wise uncle. The plot follows the basic structure of Spiderman, and throws in Fantastic Four and X-men spoofs as well. The movie avoids trying to create comedy by recreating scenes from famous super hero movies. Director and writer Mazin really tries to make a story the viewers will care about, and many of the jokes are found in the dialogue.

Mazin knew what he was doing. He crafted an entertaining spoof full of witty dialogue. A few things brought the movie down. First, the glut of spoof movies took away any chance for this film to be original. Second, it seemed a limited budget took away from some of the special effects that could have been utilized. Third, Mazin just isn't as talented as the Zucker brothers. Still, this movie had some good stuff, including my favorite, Steven Hawking. This is a must see for fans of the genre. It's not perfect, but SUPERHERO MOVIE is definitely trying to follow in the footsteps of AIRPLANE, and that's more than can be said for all the Date and Epic movie spoofs.

This flick which is a average entry into the spoof genre, one that has direct roots to the classic movie "Airplane". In many ways they are all similiar from "Scary movie" to 'Hot shots" they spoof a current trend or movie. In this one they mainly spoof 'spiderman"; but in spite of the extended gay and fart jokes it's still entertaining. The main villian 'hourglass" is actually a good supervillian that could fit well into any comic book or film based on a comic books. In fact most movies are storyboarded just like a comic book before shooting. So anyone who looks down at comics should forget about movies as well. This isn't a stand out performer in it's genre but it's what you expect and that's some laughs and lots of silliness. Since 'airplane' there has been a alot of these over the top spoofs and they all have their moments and a basic similiar structure based on a outlandish gags. The blu ray print is as good as it gets and this is the only way to watch this movie if possible.

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Is there any good way to start a review for yet another mindless spoof? With the release of "Meet the Spartans" back in January, it did seem as if the parody genre was on the rise again. Since we now have "Superhero Movie" added to the mix, I'm really not sure anymore; it isn't as funny as "Meet the Spartans," but it's certainly a lot better than the droning jokiness of films like "Scary Movie 3," "Scary Movie 4," "Date Movie," and "Epic Movie." Most of these films were nothing more than comedic vignettes, having no real plot other than a back-to-back series of gags. This new film actually does make an attempt at a plot ... and by "plot," I mean that it takes all the best elements from the first "Spider-Man" and forces them to be goofy, at times too much so. "Superhero Movie" is by no means a comedic masterpiece--the sense of humor is juvenile, the jokes are blatantly obvious, and the dialogue is just plain dopey.

But since "Meet the Spartans" was all that and more, how can I be kinder to it than to "Superhero Movie"? Partly, it's because the former parodies "300," a movie with violence so excessive and action so stylized that it was practically begging to be made fun of. But it mainly has to do with the fact that "Meet the Spartans" was unashamedly aware of itself, letting the audience know that it was, in fact, watching a spoof of a great film. I found that level of self-awareness funny. "Superhero Movie" is certainly aware of itself, but not at a satisfying level; the opening credits show close-ups of the hero's suit while a light passes over it; we eventually see that the light emanates from a flashlight the hero is holding. Could nothing more come from this gag than a flashlight? Could no one think of something even funnier than that?

"Superhero Movie" tells the story of a high school kid named Rick Riker (Drake Bell), a story he claims "is not for the faint of heart." While on a field trip to the local laboratory, Riker is bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly; he soon realizes that he's developing super powers, not the least of which is his ability to break-dance vertically on the wall of a building. He also has lightening fast reflexes, as seen when he catches a nail fired from a nail gun. Disguised in a green and black suit and going by the name Dragonfly, Riker uses his abilities to fight crime all over the city, which doesn't seem to be a problem for his aunt and uncle (Marion Ross and Leslie Nielsen). By the way, he lives with them because, nine years ago, his parents were horribly murdered after leaving a movie theater.

His archenemy is Lou Landers, a.k.a. Hourglass (Christopher McDonald), a terminally ill scientist who, through a technological accident, has the ability to suck the life energy out of people. If he can find a specific number of victims, he will be able to live forever, despite his illness. Riker is supposed to save the day, but he lacks confidence since he's a dragonfly that can't actually fly. Whatever. Maybe the girl he's secretly in love with--Jill Johnson (Sara Paxton)--can inspire him towards greatness. At the very least, she can inspire him to attempt a naughty version of the upside down kiss from "Spider-Man."

If this doesn't seem all that funny, that's probably because the plots for parody films are anything but; it's all about the jokes and how many can be crammed into a single film. Indeed, "Superhero Movie" practically bursts at the seams with the mass of its humor. Does all of it work? No, but there are a few select moments I laughed at: there's a moment when Leslie Nielsen's character reads to Riker from a puberty book, only to realize it covers changes in the female body; Riker recalls what his uncle says later in the film, when it seems least appropriate. There are some moments when a parody of Professor Stephen Hawking (Robert Joy) cusses in his distinct computer-generated voice. Some may find this offensive, but keep in mind that the real Stephen Hawking once provided his voice to an episode of "The Simpsons."

But for every funny moment, there are two or three that aren't all that funny. Example: Riker accidentally sprays himself with animal pheromones and attracts everything from dogs to rabbits to skunks (and you don't want to know what happens when a snail shows up). There's a cameo appearance from Pamela Anderson as Invisible Girl; she's been having an affair with the handicapped and bald Professor Xavier (Tracy Morgan), and that puts him at odds with his equally handicapped and bald wife (Regina Hall). There's also a moment when Riker's aunt is asleep on the couch, and she does nothing but pass gas in front of Riker and Jill as they try to share a tender moment with one another. You may not believe this, but that does get old after a while.

While this movie is nowhere near as bad as it could have been, it still isn't good enough to recommend, so those of you upset by my positive review of "Meet the Spartans" can rest easy. "Superhero Movie" is amusing but hardly hilarious, which--believe it or not--is more than I can say for many of our more recent parody films. I'm sure teenagers will love this film, which I guess is fine since there certainly are worse movies. Some people will get a kick out of Brent "Data" Spiner, who plays a scientist that screams like a woman at a certain point. Yes, "Superhero Movie" is juvenile, but it's also harmless, so in the end, it's really no better and no worse than you expect it to be.

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Having `basically' gotten a free copy of this, I decided to go ahead and check it out. I had seriously doubted I would laugh at all in this movie since these movies have been going from good to really bad as quick as a snowball down a snowy hill. I like Scary Movie 1 and 2. But 3 and 4 were bad. Meet the Spartans was bad. I didn't even watch Epic Movie or Date Movie. But Superhero Movie... well... it just might surprise you.

The movie basically spoofs Spidey with tidbits of other movies like Batman and X-Men thrown in. Don't let the box art fool you guys. Everyone on the front of the box is in the movie for maybe 5 30 seconds with the exception of the Dragonfly. Wolverine's whole part was him shaving his legs with his claws while smoking a cigar... lame. Prof X was in the movie for a few scenes, but it really was just thrown in to get laughs in my opinion. Pam Anderson was in there for maybe a good 30 seconds. Ah well. The movie revolves around Rick Riker (or you could say Peter Parker) who becomes bitten by a radioactive dragonfly. And instead of Green Goblin being his arch-nemesis we have Hourglass played really well by Christopher Donald (I always like that guy for some reason). And, in my opinion, Hourglass is a lot cooler, movie wise at least, than the Green Goblin. Hourglass sucks the life force out of people so he can stay alive. The bodies on screen actually look like all the juices and matter were sucked from their insides until there just a prune of what they once were. So basically if you've seen Spidey then you know what's going on here. Good vs. Evil.

The thing about this movie though is they throw in some little twists to the story. Some to make you laugh (or try to) and some just to make the story a little different. The story itself isn't really that bad. If it wasn't for the goofiness and the forced humor, and of course the carbon copy script of Spider Man, then this movie might have been able to stand on its own.

Now for the funny parts. I don't see how the writers can go from one extreme to the other like they do and expect laughs. Some scenes seem like they were written for 8 year olds to laugh at while some scenes would have you dive bombing your child with `ear muffs'. In my opinion, I have a pretty good range of humor. I laugh at Kevin Smith stuff, Will Ferrell stuff, and then even stuff that's in Wes Anderson movies such as Royal Tenabaums and Rushmore. I'm everywhere. So saying that, I did laugh more than I expected in this movie. Leslie Nielson had 2 of the best parts in my opinion that involve a nail gun and then a punch. It was back to back and I just didn't expect it and it made me laugh pretty good. But, like most of the recent stuff these writers and directors have done, most of the comedy is too forced and just incredibly dumb. For instance, they have Johnny Storm freak out cause he's on fire. Seriously? He says, "Watch what I can do" then says "FLAME ON!" Then looks at his body and says, "OH MY GOD I'M ON FIRE! HELP ME!" and stops and drops and probably rolls. I'm not sure since I was rolling my eyes. That's the kind of stuff that took this movie from being decent to `eh'.

In the end I would say, if there is nothing else to rent, give this a try. Or if you're just a big fan of the Superhero movies, like I am, then just say to heck with it and rent it. It almost feels like a big "WHAT IF?" comic. Almost.

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Rick (Drake Bell) is your baisc high school nerd who was bitten by a genetically enchanced dragonfly and has the abilities and powers of a dragonfly. He becomes an avenging superhero nicknamed Dragonfly and must protects the good citizens of Empire City from criminals, Rick also wants to win the heart of beautiful girl Jill Johnson (Sara Paxton) and must do battle against the evil Hourglass or Lou Landers (Christopher Mcdonald).

Co-starring Leslie Nielsen, Pamela Anderson, Brent Spiner, Jeffery Tambor, Keith David and Tracy Morgan, this is an outrageous and nicely done parody of superhero movies from "Spider-Man 1 & 2", "Superman", "Batman Begins", "Fantastic Four" and "X-Men". This movie is produced by the great parody maker David Zucker who made "Naked Gun" and this movie works better then the Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer duds as it successfully uses some decent laughs, some nifty spoofs on celebrities like Stephen Hawking, and not too much overdosing on Pop culture references like the Friedberg and Seltzer movies. Sara Paxton is simply gorgeous in this movie as the hero's love interest and Tracy Morgan is hilarious as Professor Xevier, it's worth a look for those that were fed up with Friedberg and Seltzer's trash.

This DVD contains never before seen footage that was cut out of the theatrical release and has some good extras like audio commentary, alternate ending, deleted scenes, and two featurettes with trailer.

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