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My thoughts on super, and why so many people hate it

posted 11 years ago by skeleben-1
30 replies | jump to latest

For me, Super was a refreshing satire of every other superhero movie, and it went about its business by walking an extremely fine line between light comedy, serious drama, and ruthless violence. So many of the bad reviews I've seen for this complain about either the violence or the inconsistent tone/characters. But the way I see it, the whole point of the movie was to juxtapose your typical fantasy superhero movie with what it would actually look like if someone dressed up in a silly costume and tried to fight crime; it wouldn't have flashy fight sequences, there wouldn't be witty banter every 2 seconds with perfectly scripted one-liners, and the people trying to act out their superhero fantasies are probably going to be a) very human and b) insane (which Frank and Boltie both very much are).

If I had to boil the movie down, it is essentially a comedy where the humor comes from violating your expectations of what a typical superhero movie should look like. Frank talks about being special and being chosen, but he is more likely just schizophrenic/manic. Boltie at first comes across as the cute and peppy side-kick, but she turns out to be more of a psychopathic nymphomaniac. When Frank is at his most heroic, storming a well-armed gangster hideout to save his kidnapped girlfriend, the way he systematically and cold-bloodedly shoots all of the wounded men on the ground reminds you that he is actually seriously mentally ill. Even at the end, you expect him to get back together with his girlfriend, but it takes the realistic approach of her getting her life back on track and him staying as a crazy, lonely nut-job (what else would you seriously expect to happen in real life?).

Everything that the characters do, if seen only in the context of the movie itself, is dark, horrible, and depressing. But where it becomes interesting is in the way that it implicitly condemns all of the fantasy violence from X-men, ironman, superman, etc. and brings it all crashing down to earth with a few well-executed scenes. If you miss this point, then I am pretty sure you are definitely going to hate the movie. But I think if you pay attention to all of the scenes that seem out of place or weird and actually think about why it seems so out of place, I think you might realize that it's a deeper movie than it seems.

/end rant

[–] JellyFish19 11 years ago

I liked it more than Kick-Ass (the comics were great, but I didn't like the change of tone in the movie). However one thing that bugs me is Libby's character. I was having a hard time understanding or believing why a supposedly normal young adult would suddenly go insane and start killing people. Franks story was a whole different and understandable thing, the guy was clearly ill.

But Ellen's character needed better development. It could have been explained more clearly, like if she had no future plans, was just working at that dead-end job and was planing to kill herself before the whole Crimson Bolt fiasco happened and so she decides to go out with a bang. Just my 2 cents.

[–] jaredouimette1 10 years ago

She was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, and Frank doing something spontaneous and crazy set her off. I mean, she worked in a dead-end job (the comic book store) that she clearly disliked. And then Frank fulfills her fantasies.

[–] croat-hr 9 years ago

I did't see it like this. I saw it like Libby was crazy all along. How do we know she wasn't doing all crazy *beep* her entire life? We don't know.
She seems manic and irrational from the first scene on.
Plus, she obviously didn't hate her job. She was actually obsessed with comic books and their characters.

[–] RobinFlys 8 years ago

I agree with croat-hr. I think Libby's mental illness just "blossomed" after meeting Frank. I am not sure why I started to watch Super, but am very glad I did. One of the best I've seen in a while, for all of the reasons the rest of the posters listed. I really loved it!

[–] rosaemundsson 11 years ago

Totally agree. I can understand if you watch this movie expecting and hoping for something a la Kick-ass, you will be disappointed. Not a bad word about Kick-ass, because I love it, but it is mindless fun. This is something more.
Oh btw, check out these two movie-geeks discussing it. I don't know if i agree with them or just copied their view of the movie.

http://redlettermedia.com/half-in-the-bag/super-and-the-watchman-interview/

[–] koffeenkreame41-1 10 years ago

To be honest, I really liked both, both were great in their own ways.

"I'm the ultimate badass,you do not wanna f-ck wit me!"-Pvt Hudson in Aliens.😬

[–] sdrywer 10 years ago

short version: If you didin't enjoy this movie you are a *beep* moron/christian who doesn't know *beep* about movies or comedy. Case closed

[–] eoval 10 years ago

Another movie within the same genre and with the same refreshing look at what "being a real superhero is" is Defendor. Its another mis-billed movie that truly deserves to be properly branded - the movies that get labeled as comedies and at heart really are not is a black eye on Hollywood, IMO. If you haven't watched it, make an effort, it will be well worth your while.

"I do not like mixing up moralities and mathematics."
Churchill

[–] shoobe01 10 years ago

I like your take, and I liked the movie, but tend to say it's not a comedy at all really. I mean, it has dark humor bits, but it is not structurally comedic. What is it? Hard to say.

I would say it's Other. It is a subversive superhero movie, and in that sense is a subversive action movie.

People die. Important people you care about, in groteque ways. Not because that's what we expect of action films, but because that is what happens when your good intentions -- your morally backed reasons for taking action against evil -- come up against the reality of use of force.

This might be one of the most unique film I have seen in a long time, and one that I think is important, especially in light -- as you said well -- of the superhero films that have come out since it was made. Destruction is sanitized, a handful are explicitly saved, but no one is killed. Well, not en masse as would happen when you destroy whole cities. The few who are killed to drive the story do so cleanly, with a dab of blood here and there maybe, and with enough time for a quip at the end. Violent encounters are not like that.

[–] kebbellt 9 years ago

I agree that this movie isn't a comedy at all. It's incredibly dark, violent, and disturbing. I think what made it particularly disturbing was the fact that it seemed to be marketed as your typical light, quirky indie comedy. I'm not sure if this was the director's intention or something that was decided upon for marketing purposes, but talk about a movie that completely subverted my expectations.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] theboxingcannabyte 10 years ago

Great post, I personally love this movie and it's in my Top-10 superhero flicks. Beating out Defendor which has a really similar theme and style (both came out within 12 months of each other as wel)

[–] Matt345 9 years ago

Only I can't buy it as complex, the zealotry comes across as genuine, and therefore also the inconsistent and unsubtle change of tones.
The director doesn't offer any other angle than the main character's convictions and actions. In fact the movie makes extra sure of it in the overly explicit ending monologue and the epilogue, where everything comes full circle and gets tied up neatly in a preachy, theological sense. Even the suffering and loss are apparently shown to have a purpose.
The violence doesn't seem so much to reflect back on the heroes (if only in the form of mutual responsibility for each other's risk-taking) but simply to display the wickedness of evildoers on the one hand and on the other to be the necessary means to meet them with.

But while I'm not completely convinced, you have at least persuaded me of the possibility of more complexity behind it, that perhaps got lost in a lack of subtlety of presentation.

[–] dg135 9 years ago

I agree. I quite enjoyed the movie. But, it was uneven, sort of like Superheroes (2011 documentary) meets Taxi Driver and then descends into typical action finale. I would have preferred if it had stayed a bit closer to the Superheroes side. And killing off Boltie in the end left a sour note for me. Regardless, I think it was a good and interesting movie.