Super

“Face the wrath of the Crimson Bolt!”

I would hesitate to call Super a comedy, because while it was quite funny, there was an awful lot of violence.  Oh yes, there was blood!  Unlike the horrible Hobo With a Shotgun, with its pointless gore, the blood involved in Super was not glorified or displayed in the same manner.  In fact, a lot of it (not all) was shot from a distance so you really got to feel the effect, but not simply be subjected to a “gore-fest”.  Behind all the violence and (very dark) humour, was quite a dramatic story, and characters you can relate to and actually feel for; a rarity in a lot of movies lately.  I think that was what I really enjoyed the most about this movie, even though I did laugh out loud at many scenes.

Super is the story of Frank D’Arbo (Rainn Wilson), a regular guy, with a regular job, whose life gets thrown through the ringer when his recovering addict wife, Sarah (Liv Tyler) falls off the wagon, leaves Frank, and goes away with drug dealer Jacques (Kevin Bacon).  At first Frank tries to go to the police to have Jacques, or Jock as he pronounces it, arrested for kidnapping his wife, with no success.  He soon finds his answer in the form of television (and comic book) super hero “The Holy Avenger”  on the All Jesus Network.  The Holy Avenger’s words “I’m no different from you or anyone else, Holly.  All it takes to be a superhero is the choice to fight evil!” spark Frank to action, becoming the Crimson Bolt, with his homemade costume and pipe wrench, he’s ready to fight evil.  ‘Bolt starts small, but soon his vigilantism escalates, from beating up muggers to maiming them.  From human punching bag to human wrecking machine, Frank savagely beats up child molesters, drug dealers and movie line butters, all the while building up to getting his wife back.  Of course Frank is no superhero, and once he runs into real criminals, he ends up getting shot, turning to the only person he can trust, Libby (Ellen Page), the girl from the comic book shop who helped him research powerless superheroes.  Soon Libby becomes “Boltie” the Crimson Bolt’s kid sidekick…well, she’s 22, but in relation to Frank, she’s a kid right?  Cue the training, cue the action, cue the retribution.

I really enjoyed Super, from the very beginning with its energetic animated set of opening credits, whose underground cartoon feel setup the film to deliver with expert pacing.   The cast was impressive and well-chosen.  Writer/Director James Gunn can credit his fine script with landing him his cast, as the DVD bonus features revealed, all who read it instantly wanted to be a part of Super.  This was the small film that had a “wish list” for its cast, and had its wishes granted, with the big names on board.  I even really enjoyed the soundtrack, which was very suitable and exciting.  There really is something for everyone here, as there is a dramatic love story, over the top violence, big name stars, and lots of dark comedy.  Some of the funniest bits I thought were the Holy Avenger TV clips with Nathan Fillion (as The Holy Avenger) fighting off the “Demonswill” (played by director James Gunn) with student sidekicks Jim (Nick Holmes) and Holly (played by Mikaela Hoover in some very cleavage revealing outfits like those that many after school specials tried to sneak in!).

All of the common superhero movie elements are present but with a dark realism that is a refreshing spin on the superhero genre.