1999 Directed by Kinka Usher
When Champion City's hero Captain Amazing is kidnapped by the recently paroled supervillain Casanova Frankenstein, a trio of average, everyday superheroes -- Mr. Furious, the Shoveler and the Blue Raja -- assemble a new super team to save him.
Ben Stiller Geoffrey Rush Claire Forlani William H. Macy Hank Azaria Janeane Garofalo Kel Mitchell Paul Reubens Jenifer Lewis Stacey Travis Wes Studi Greg Kinnear Lena Olin Eddie Izzard Artie Lange Pras Tom Waits Louise Lasser Ricky Jay Ernie Lee Banks Gerry Becker Ned Bellamy Corbin Bleu Philip Bolden Emmy Laybourne Michael Bay Doug Jones Vylette Fagerholm Erik Michael Tristan
Superhrdinové, Záhadní lidé, Mystery Men - Geheimnisvolle Menschen, Hombres misteriosos, Mystery Men (Hombres misteriosos), Таинственные люди
83
"You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the drums."
Absolutely preposterous, but incredible nonetheless. A two-hour Schumacher Batman riff that features caped crusaders such as 'The Shoveler' and 'Spleen'. Sublimely silly. I bet all of these actors keep evidence of Mystery Men locked away deep in their subconscious, but I cherish it. Filled to the brim with fart jokes and stupid slapstick and yet entirely more engaging than most superhero movies this decade. Shoutout to Tom Waits, master builder of non-lethal weapons.
We're not your classic heros. We're the other guys.
-The Shoveller
Mystery Men came out a good 15 years too early. A loose adaptation of an aspect of Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot Comics, the property wasn't picked up for film because someone wanted to make a superhero parody but rather because it had the misfortune of being made during the tail end of the 90s superhero boom in films.
The 90s "boom" was easy to forget because it basically consisted of the success of the Tim Burton Batman films causing studios to attempt and pick up every "cheap" comic book property they could to get a "hit" while Marvel's characters were being put into incredibly cheap and horrible films.
This…
Mystery Men is a fun and original superhero movie. The characters are all interesting and the fight scenes are hilarious. However, it it way too long. In those 2 hours, it could have developed the side characters more, but it didn't. Mystery Men is best watched with friends.
"You threw a spoon at the guy, Jeff."
Definite conflict of interest here, as I watched this movie approx. 800000000 times between the years 1999 and 2004, my brother and I both had it memorized thanks to a well-worn VHS copy. Watching it as an adult was an interesting experience, a unique blend of fun and embarrassment - befitting the weird mix of wit and dumb lowbrow laughs built into the comedy.
Unexpected MVP is Janeane Garofalo, whose rapport with a bowling ball is more entertaining and funny than that between any two Guardians of the Galaxy you might care to name.
Mystery Men was a favorite of mine growing up. The Shoveller was one of my favorite superheros in general. I laughed at every joke. I thought it was one of the best movies ever made.
I no longer think that. It runs a tad long, it has some jokes that have aged really poorly, and the film's portrayal of women, while possibly indicative of the superhero genre as a whole, still feels extremely gross and the film never does anything to work against that. The Bowler is a great character, but when every other woman in the film is a motherly figure or a wife, or extremely objectified or written to be as annoying as possible, you know you might…
Between Blade (1998) and X-Men (2000) this anomaly came out to lovingly take the piss out of the big league superhero game before superhero films became the dominant monoculture. It simultaneously feels like a breath of fresh air and is forever-linked to Smash Mouth’s All Star. So it’s dated, yet timeless. But more important, it’s very fun and deserves a bigger cult audience. And yes, support your local music and independent film well. Support them very well.
A funny comedy, athough it is not able to maintain the same quality throughout the movie.
"He fell down an elevator shaft onto some bullets" might be one of the greatest lines in any movie.
Its a super hero comic book spoof that foresaw the future of cinema way back in 1999.
Worth a watch if you can handle silly throwaway humour as seen in Ben Stillers other works.
William Macy, Kel Mitchell, and Eddie Izzard. What a combo.
I do like this film
My rating says 3 & 1/2 stars 'cus of the way the site ratings work but I'd give it an actual score of 3 & 3/4 stars (3.75)
The shoveller and Blue Raja are my faveourits heroes in this film
Yes it is dated in a lot of areas...and 'The Spleen'is nothing more than a walking fart joke...but its still very much enjoyable
A breath of fresh air in a time of dark gritty superhero films
(Side note: I would love to see someone mod Shovel Knight and change the titular hero to 'The Shoveller' from this film)
Tobias Andersen 7,604 films
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