Review of Super (2010) by William C — 10 Jul 2015

Rating-6.5/10.

With a film like Super, you may of course as many did when this came out, draw it into similarities with "Kick-Ass". The true answer is though that this and Kick-Ass came out at the same time and were running in a way against each other, just with kind of similar plots to boot. That said Super is actually very funny and even though containing some of the most dark comedy I have seen in years, is still a good piece of fun.

The movie has elements, and I mean that in a way where you can laugh at the comedy but also feel for the characters slightly, with that dark theme you get a darker plot. It is good fun though and the character of Frank or as he is known as his superhero persona Crimson Bolt(Rainn Wilson) is fun and well crafted from James Gunn who writes and directs this and Gunn seems to create many people who are weirdly interesting.

Among that cast of weirdly interesting people are Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon and Liv Tyler who together bring a more skilful acting approach to a comedy movie that can have it's odd shake. It isn't always gut bursting funny, it has it's very fine moments and some great one liners or one two's but it can feel slightly crude(at times). I think if you don't mind a little black humour then you should love this, many could watch and hate this because of it's kind of oddly violent tones, but even those parts are still funny even if caught up in a slightly morally questionable way.

Gunn can seem a little insane on this project at certain moments, he seems to enjoy overly silly stuff which isn't always bad but can at times feel well, overused. He does though direct and write this as well as he could, he becomes the real star of the movie in this way for me and showcases his talent in comedy film. On the more camera and the such things, well the cameras are used well, it has a nice shaky cam feeling that keeps it feeling real but can also make the more violent parts, well more violent as well.

The movie I must also add is choreographed fairly well too, now of course with Rainn Wilson being fairly poor at the things he does in character here, you might not expect it, but I felt it was well done. The imagination that goes into this is great, again and this is the most recurring thing I have ever written about, the violence can be overused with that imagination, and kind of more graphic too. The film has a nice way of using animation too and Frank's drawings and thoughts make this a wholly more emotional journey than say, well Kick-Ass.

I felt overall the movie is OK and rather satisfactory, not the best of comedy film in the superhero department but then again, there aren't many of that right now. I think if you want laughs and even a few smiles then this is a good watch, for those who don't like too much fighting etc, well actually this could be your guilty pleasures. Take in the slight parts of genius that is James Gunn's mind and this is wholly enjoyable, if you don't listen carefully enough though this won't be funny and the plot etc will be wasted.