With Kick-Ass and Iron Man 2 about to be released, it seemed like a good time to review an unknown movie concerning superheroes. The Specials is the movie I chose for this occasion. I have to admit that I find many superhero movies overblown. What attracted me to this particular one was that it concerned superheroes in a more realistic world, and that these superheroes had problems many of us could identify with. Another promising thing about the movie was that it was written by James Gunn, who has written entertaining movies like Tromeo & Juliet, Slither, and the remake of Dawn Of The Dead. Though he also wrote the Scooby-Doo movie, so I prepared myself for the possiblity that this one would be equally not so special.
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#1 by blake on April 17, 2010 - 4:24 pm
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Every time I read one of Keith’s reviews, I find myself tempted to say, “Gee, I’ve never even heard of this film.” But then, I pause and say, “Duh, Blake. That’s the whole POINT OF THE WEB SITE!”
#2 by Christian Brimo on April 19, 2010 - 1:05 am
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” While Jamie Kennedy’s blue makeup didn’t turn my stomach, his Amok character still managed to displease me with his foul-mouthed dialogue. Hey, I’m no prude – but all his filthy dialogue seemed forced and an attempt to be “edgy”, instead of coming across as the honest tongue of a cynical person. ”
I haven’t seen the film, but this sounds like a parody of the sort of foul-mouthed, one-named heroes that showed up in the 90s. Did Amok wear lots of pouches, have bulging muscles, and carry stupid looking guns?
TV Tropes has an entry on these guys: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NinetiesAntiHero
#3 by Christian Brimo on April 19, 2010 - 1:12 am
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and is Alien Orphan a parody of Superman?
#4 by Greywizard on April 19, 2010 - 12:54 pm
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Amok didn’t have lots of pouches, bulging muscles, or stupid looking guns. If you want to see what he looks like, go to the movie’s entry at Amazon.com and click the option to enlarge the scan of the DVD case so you can see him clearly.
As for Alien Orphan, there didn’t seem to be anything suggesting he was a parody of Superman. I’m sure I would have noticed had the filmmakers intended to do this.
#5 by supersonic on April 20, 2010 - 6:44 pm
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The Specials is in the lower levels of my pile of movies I’ve watched the first ten minutes of and didn’t get back to.