Super
I forgot quite a bit about James Gunn’s “Super” before watching it for the first time in a while this morning. What I didn’t forget was how much fun the film is to watch, even with the “Kick-Ass” movies as easy comparisons. Don’t feel as though Gunn is just doing another version of “Kick-Ass,” though, because while the central ideas are similar- regular people take up the mantle of “superhero” to fight crime- “Kick-Ass” is still, fundamentally, on the comic book realm when it comes to its stories and action. “Super” feels like what it would seriously be like if someone in the real world tried to be a superhero, and it’s pretty ugly business. Ridiculously entertaining, but still a bit ugly.
The thing that struck me immediately about “Super” this time around is how Gunn establishes the story of Frank Darbo, the mild-mannered man who is played here by “The Office’s” Rainn Wilson, and is just the right type of weirdo for this role. Throughout his life, Frank, who works as a cook at a diner, has had two “perfect” moments- when he happened to be able to help the police apprehend a criminal by being at the right place at the right time, and when he got married to Sarah (Liv Tyler), a former drug addict he worked with at the diner. One day, he gets an unexpected visitor is Jock (Kevin Bacon), who is looking for Sarah; that, and the fact that he finds her and some friends smoking bongs, gives him some hints of her going down a spiral again that are confirmed when she packs her stuff and goes. He later finds her at her place of work as she’s leaving with Jock, and he tries to get through to her, but is unable to. One day, he is flipping through the channels when he comes across a religiously-themed superhero TV show, and has a vision that leads him to take up the mantle of a real-life superhero to fight crime, and try to save Sarah.
If all you’re familiar with James Gunn from is the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, I cannot recommend enough going back and checking out this crazy-ass movie he made just before. (Hit up his 2005 horror film, “Slither,” for good measure.) All that Gunn does in this film is subvert the notion of what a superhero is, and how they would be greeted by the real world, at every turn with a pitch-black sensibility and brutal violence. When Frank makes himself a costume to become the Crimson Bolt, he finds his early attempts at heroism…lacking, shall we say. He isn’t really able to get it done until he goes to a comic books store, and asks one of the clerks, Libby (Ellen Page), about superheroes without powers so that he could get some ideas on weapons he could use. When he settles on a wrench, it’s definitely not like in the comics or movies when he fights crime- there is blood and death, and it’s easy to understand why he is first likened to a villain and criminal by the press and police than a hero. The violence is this film is horrifying to witness, but the way Frank goes about his business is hilarious. Wilson’s face is the MVP of this film, and the different contortions he puts it in under the Crimson Bolt mask allow us to find the absurd humor behind the horror of this guy hitting people with wrenches, even for the- admittedly annoying- act of cutting in line. Prepare to be shocked by what you see.
This cast Gunn has assembled is ridiculously talented, and they all bring something to the film. Wilson, as I mentioned before, is a weirdo, but the sincerity with which he approaches Frank’s mission, and the emotions of losing Sarah, are what help us sympathize with his character even as he attacking people. Bacon is a really good actor to have as this villain, because he’s pretty mundane and normal, but we still see the wicked side of him as a drug dealer who is stringing out Sarah, who struggled to get clean, and is now backsliding big time (unfortunately, Tyler’s character doesn’t really have much to do, but she’s still a good motivator for Frank). Nathan Fillion, Michael Rooker and Gregg Henry- all Gunn veterans- do what they do best in supporting roles (Fillion is easily my favorite as the religious superhero that inspires Frank), and now that I know what Gunn’s brother Sean looks like from the “Guardians” films, I’m always excited to see him. Wilson meets his best match, though, in Page, whose enthusiasm for what Frank is doing as Libby gives her the idea of being his sidekick, which leads to some odd, uncomfortable moments for Frank as he only has his eyes set on the mission. Wilson and Page have a fun time playing this material in Gunn’s twisted take on the superhero genre.
