Mystery Men

Starring: Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria, Geoffrey Rush, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, Claire Forlani, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Wes Studi, Lena Olin, Eddie Izzard, Dane Cook
Directed by: Kinka Usher
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A group of lackluster superheroes must come together when Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) is kidnapped by Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush).

Review:

Tim: I really wanted to like Mystery Men. It took me a very, very long time to see this film, and I knew it had a great cast, so I was really hoping to enjoy it. Unfortunately, I was unable to. The film is a giant mess, not particularly funny, and way, way too long. These elements don't combine to make a very strong film. It did not surprise me to learn there were problems on the set with the cast- this feels like a disjointed, inharmonious product.

The basic story is fine, but it's never mined to its full potential. In a city kept safe by the famous Captain Amazing, a few lackluster "superheroes" try to make it big, but really remain in his shadow. When he's kidnapped by a nefarious villain, the underachieving superheroes must come together to save the day. That's a great premise, and I was very interested to see how the story played out. Unfortunately, the script is a mess. The film meanders around, losing momentum at every turn. It didn't build on itself, and by the time the movie ended, all I could think about was how thankful I felt that the movie was over. This film clocks in at 121 minutes- not especially long, but for a silly comedy like this, it was a good 20 minutes too long. There wasn't enough substance to the story to support a two hour movie. The film dragged in numerous places and made the whole viewing experience a bit unpleasant.

The cast is impressive, but not everyone gives great performances. I thought Ben Stiller was decent in the lead role, but he does nothing spectacular. I never particularly cared for his character. Still, Stiller is a likeable actor, and gave a serviceable performance. William H. Macy was one of the bright spots of the film. He gave a strong performance and was one of my favorite characters. Hank Azaria was pretty good, although his voice did get annoying as the movie went on. Geoffrey Rush was pretty enjoyable as the over-the-top villain, Casanova Frankenstein. Janeane Garofalo added some funny moments, but was underutilized. I really enjoyed Greg Kinnear as Captain Amazing. He was unlikable yet perfect for the part. Claire Forlani is an underrated actress, and I wish she had something of merit to do in this film. Kel Mitchell added nothing, and Paul Reubens annoyed me from the very first time I saw him. I simply did not find him or his character funny at all. The cast as a whole, though, is impressive (resume-wise), and the best part of the film was seeing all these comedic actors interacting together on screen. I just wish they had better material to work with.

I was surprised by how unfunny I found the whole movie to be. Some might disagree, but I just did not laugh at this film. A few individual lines were semi-humorous, but as a whole, the dialogue and the characters didn't work well together to create a funny film. Individual moments might have worked, but nothing was weaved together effectively. Director Kinka Usher (cool name) really screwed this film up. He did a very poor job directing it, and a lot of the flaws come from his inexperience and lack of talent. It's no surprise to me that this was his directorial debut, and the only film he directed. From a sample size of one, the guy is a very poor director.

I like superhero movies, and we need more superhero comedies. I wanted to like Mystery Men- I remember seeing the trailer when I was a teenager and thinking it looked funny. Maybe I would have liked this movie more if I saw it when I was more naive. As an experienced movie watcher, the film's flaws were too apparent and too damaging for me to ignore. I did not have a fun time watching this film, and it was very minimally entertaining. I've seen worse films in the genre, but this one is pretty bad.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 5



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