LogFAQs > #971939909

Tangy
24. Did I include this movie solely because of the Blue Raja and Casanova Frankenstein? Yes. Does it hold up well? Err well no, but there were still some pleasant surprises! First and foremost this cast is great. Ive already mentioned Azaria and Rush, but really everyone here is having a ton of fun and I can always appreciate that. The main henchmen are literally called the Disco Boys and thats something I will always find funny. Secondly I really do dig the style, not just the Schumacher style aesthetics either. The entire movie feels like it was pulled straight out of a comic book, with everything from the dramatic camera angles, to the unique costume design. The whole thing is honestly a visual treat (not counting the gross cgi of course).

The thing that really ruins the movie for me though is the writing. Nearly every joke that comes out of the characters mouths are lame attempts at one liners. I get that its part of the whole superhero genre, but cmon. May the forks be with us really? It constantly takes me away from the fun and just reminds me how cringy a lot of films from this era could be. Oh yeah and Stiller kinda sucks here too. He just kinda whines the whole movie, until of course hes the one to miraculously save the day.

Biggest Laugh: Blue Raja keyi- uh forking the limo.

Plasma
28. How Not to Make An Avengers Movie.

This one started out promising. There were some fun, creative ideas early on, and I liked the first three Super-Wannabes we got introduced to. Had the movie focused on Angry Ben Stiller, Shovel Knight, and Silverware Aladdin, we mightve had a strong story that explored the lives of three guys trying to step up to the plate in the absence of a city protector. Throw in a plucky waitress, and youd have a solid cast for a superhero satire.

Instead, the writers thought it would be a good idea to double the size of the main cast and throw in a Sphinxy mentor for shits and giggles. Do we need these additional characters? Hell no. You could easily add some of their quirks, flaws, and struggles to the first group without losing anything. Fartin Nikki Sixx and Visible Boy are completely one-dimensional, and while Jeanine Garofalos character has some depth to her, shes unfortunately played by Jeanine Garofalo.

In the end were left with a messy movie thats too loud, too annoying, and too bloated. Theres simply no room to breathe when we have so many characters. Now, maybe the writers were satirizing the fact that 90s Batman movies had a million sidekicks and villains, but I doubt anyone who creates a character like Fartin Nikki Sixx is clever enough to notice that. F

GavsEvans
30. This isnt a film that eases you into the setting. I was completely overwhelmed by the opening, and it took me a good 15 minutes before I could start processing what I was looking at. Even after reaching that point, I never became comfortable with it because it was so gaudy, kitschy and over the top.

I was reminded of The Warriors while watching this film. The Warriors is also silly at first glance, with all the themed gangs in outrageous costumes, but the film takes itself relatively seriously otherwise. By not pointing out how ridiculous everyone looks, that film manages a tricky balancing act where the silliness is immersive rather than taking you out of the film. Mystery Men doesnt manage that feat, because its never quite sure what it wants to be. The wacky costumes and most of the heroes having lame barely-even-powers suggest a parody, but the plot seems to want the viewer to take the film at least a little bit seriously. To add further layers of dissonance, characters zapped by the Psychofrakulator suffer horrific graphic deaths, while the frequent POV extreme close-ups would be right at home in some of Meat Canyons more unnerving animations. Its also worth considering that this film was coming off of Batman and Robin and Blade as contemporary superhero films. Those two films are polar opposites: Blade was able to downplay its comic origin because it had so little in common with other superhero films, while Batman and Robin already didnt take itself too seriously, which doesnt leave much room for a parody to top it. As a result, Mystery Men doesnt have much parody material to work with.

For what its worth, the Sphinx was easily my favourite of the heroes. His profound-but-not-really fortune cookie mantras were the one thing I consistently found amusing. The villain is named Casanova Frankenstein, which ranks highly on the list of Best Character Names Ever, and technically makes this the third Frankenstein movie on the list, or the second Frankenstein movie, along with a Fronkenshteen movie, which is a totally different thing. Looks like Ill get to make the Dr Doofenshmirtz two nickels reference after all!

Mystery Men ends up as my current least favourite film that has Smash Mouth All Star on the soundtrack. In case youre interested, that ranking is as follows: Shrek > Digimon: The Movie > Rat Race > Mystery Men. I havent seen Inspector Gadget, so I guess Mystery Men can take solace in the fact that it might not finish dead last on that list, but on this one it does, and its not even close.