MovieChat Forums > Super (2011) Discussion > My thoughts on super, and why so many pe...

My thoughts on super, and why so many people hate it


For me, Super was a refreshing satire of every other superhero movie, and it went about its business by walking an extremely fine line between light comedy, serious drama, and ruthless violence. So many of the bad reviews I've seen for this complain about either the violence or the inconsistent tone/characters. But the way I see it, the whole point of the movie was to juxtapose your typical fantasy superhero movie with what it would actually look like if someone dressed up in a silly costume and tried to fight crime; it wouldn't have flashy fight sequences, there wouldn't be witty banter every 2 seconds with perfectly scripted one-liners, and the people trying to act out their superhero fantasies are probably going to be a) very human and b) insane (which Frank and Boltie both very much are).

If I had to boil the movie down, it is essentially a comedy where the humor comes from violating your expectations of what a typical superhero movie should look like. Frank talks about being special and being chosen, but he is more likely just schizophrenic/manic. Boltie at first comes across as the cute and peppy side-kick, but she turns out to be more of a psychopathic nymphomaniac. When Frank is at his most heroic, storming a well-armed gangster hideout to save his kidnapped girlfriend, the way he systematically and cold-bloodedly shoots all of the wounded men on the ground reminds you that he is actually seriously mentally ill. Even at the end, you expect him to get back together with his girlfriend, but it takes the realistic approach of her getting her life back on track and him staying as a crazy, lonely nut-job (what else would you seriously expect to happen in real life?).

Everything that the characters do, if seen only in the context of the movie itself, is dark, horrible, and depressing. But where it becomes interesting is in the way that it implicitly condemns all of the fantasy violence from X-men, ironman, superman, etc. and brings it all crashing down to earth with a few well-executed scenes. If you miss this point, then I am pretty sure you are definitely going to hate the movie. But I think if you pay attention to all of the scenes that seem out of place or weird and actually think about why it seems so out of place, I think you might realize that it's a deeper movie than it seems.

/end rant

reply

Just watched this on Netflix for the 5th or 6th time and I couldn't agree more.

"When death sleeps, it dreams of me."

reply

[deleted]

Agreed.

Although, I thought it was a bit too uneven/flawed to be considered "profoundly deep".

I got what Gunn was going for though, and it was a good enough movie. Especially when you factor in the budget limitations.

reply

I agree with osubuckeye420.

I watched Super having not heard of it, and I assumed it would be light and fun. Though the tone was uneven, I did enjoy it. The bits that were supposed to be funny made me laugh, the bits that were meant to disturb me or surprise me also did so.

I watcted Kick-Ass and found it be mediocre. It was watchable, but I didn't get any belly laughs from it like I did with Super. And the bits I felt I was supposed to be shocked at just fell flat.

reply

Shadup crime!

reply

*slow clap*
Perfectly said. I thought this movie was wonderful and it really hit me in a lot of ways. I was expecting nothing more than Kick Ass with Dwigth Schrute. I got something phenomenally acted (Wilson's prayer was chilling), with a brilliant story that was actually carried by the inconsistent tones.

Last movie watched: Les Miserables - 8
Jack Reacher 7.5
The Hobbit - 9.5

reply

"Wilson's prayer was chilling"

Yes it was! For me, that was one of the most impactful scenes of the movie as I've had feelings not too dissimilar from his. This movie is the movie kick-ass should've been.

reply

Agreed. This movie requires some emotional imagination which a lot of people lack. You have to get outside your own head to appreciate this.

reply

That makes a lot of sense, and is probably why I'm having so much trouble watching Super. It's not X-Men, or Watchmen, or The Punisher. It's not even Kick-Ass. It's almost a mockumentary, but not the "This is Spinal Tap" kind; it's probably very close to what you would actually get if an ordinary guy (with a lot of mental issues) decided to become a vigilante/super hero.

*edit* I started watching again last night and was glad I did, because within minutes Frank was laying into evil doers with his pipe wrench and the movie picked up its pace. But man, that first act is definitely painful to watch if you foolishly let yourself empathize with Frank.

reply

A brilliant film and Riann Wilson is fantastic in it.

reply

Did you ever consider that these sort of people might also not dress up in stupid costumes and make crazy weapons? Maybe they'd just dawn a balaclava, grab a tech-9 and get down to business. That's why this movie is stupid.

reply