THE HACK: cheap views on pop culture

Favorite Moments of 2011: Part One

 

Super

I love this scene so damn much. The movie rules, too.

A Message From God

Super

I've wanted to see Super for a long time. Thanks to the magic of video-on-demand, I was able to finally see it. In a word: wow.

Writer-director James Gunn has made one helluva film. What kind of film is it? Let's just say that an appearance by Lloyd Kauffman was more than a clever cameo. This movie is a modern Troma flick, with a sense a beauty missing from those films.

I mean, sure, the violence is so real that it some how becomes over-the-top. Sure, there's a scene where Libby (Ellen Page), as Boltie, rapes Frank (Rainn Wilson) during a fog of sexuality (she claims she was "sleepwalking"). Sure, there's a scene where Frank gets a "vision" from God to become the superhero the Crimson Bolt. And, yes, the dialgoue has plenty of f-words. But, all of this is what gives the movie its style. What it's really about is Frank finding more purpose in his life.

At the start of the film, Frank draws the two moments in his life that give him reason to get out of bed in the morning. The next ninety minutes is Frank finding a way to find more picture to draw. In essence, this is a standard "man lost in the world" -kind of movie. See what I mean about all that crazy stuff. Without it, the film's boring. Luckily, there's so much of that stuff that there is nothing boring about Super.

Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page, believe it or not, give Oscar-caliber performances here. There is so much risk taken between the two, as well as depth beyond anything that I'm sure was on the page. That isn't to say that the script sucks. It's fantastic. Gunn manages to make the horrible actions of Frank somewhat funny, if disturbing. Although, once he enters Jacques' house at the end of the film, all hilarity goes out the window and the film embraces the darkness. There is one death so ugly that I couldn't look away. Make no mistake about it. The laughs end when an important character's life does.

But, Boltie's laughs at her own actions are contagious. Watch as she gleefully stabs a guy to death. Amazing. Page is simply amazing here.

And, thank God for Nathan Fillion - I'm sorry, "The Holy Avenger." From this day forth, he will always be this hero to me. Well played, Mr. Gunn. Well played.

I also love how Gunn comments comic-geek culture. Like Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s Kick-Ass, Super is about how we - in real life - view superheroes. And, just what would happen if we - any of us - decided to become one. No matter how well intentioned our actions would be, in the end, violence would rear its ugly head. In the real world, there's blood, pain, and death. How would comic readers respond to this? It's an interesting question.

More interesting is the film's coda. There's a sweetness to it that I didn't see coming. And, it makes that God/vision thing during the first act all the more touching. There's no sarcasm there. I like that. This film is not cynical.

There's so much to love about this film that I honestly cannot think of anything I dislike about it. I mean, come on, it's not the greatest movie ever made, but it sure isn't a piece of shit.

5 out of 5