Mystery Men

1999 "Not your classic superheroes...they're the other guys."
6.1| 2h1m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 06 August 1999 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

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.

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Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.
a_chinn I'm a huge fan of comic book writer/artist Bob Burden. The Flaming Carrot by Burden remains my favorite comic of all-time. The Mystery Men was a spinoff series from The Flaming Carrot, about a league of second tier super heroes of which The Carrot was a member. The story concept of wannabe superheroes and villains is ripe for comedy, since self-serious comic book movies are ripe for satire, but what ends up on screen here sadly is not all that funny or biting. The humor of the comic books were decidedly absurdist and wildly funny if you appreciate that sense of humor, but the humor of the film is much more conventional and revolves more around silly super powers, purposefully corny dialogue, and fart jokes. The film is only made watchable by virtue of it's stellar cast (William H. Macy as The Shoveler, Hank Azaria as Blue Raja, Janeane Garofalo as The Bowler, Paul Reubens as The Spleen Ben Stiller as Mr. Furious, Wes Studi as The Sphinx, Geoffrey Rush as Casanova Frankenstein, Lena Olin as Dr. Anabel Leek, Eddie Izzard as Tony P, Artie Lange as Big Red, Claire Forlani as Monica, Tom Waits as Doc Heller, Louise Lasser as Violet, Ricky Jay as Vic Weems, Dane Cook as The Waffler, Doug Jones as Pencilhead, Dana Gould as Squeegeeman). Greg Kinnear also appears in the film as the one top tier superhero, Captain Amazing, who when he is captured by villains, the Mystery Men have to step up to save him and Champion City. The film also includes odd cameos and bit parts by Michael Bay, Mark Mothersbaugh, Riki Rachtman, CeeLo Green, Jody Watley,, Doug Jones, and Dana Gould. The film was (over) directed by commercial director Kinka Usher, who has since directed no other feature films, but I think a majority of the film's failure lies with the script by Neil Cuthbert, who's other writing credits include the notable Eddie Murphy bomb, "The Adventures of Pluto Nash." According to IMDB, Danny DeVito was at one point set to direct and star as The Shoveller, and I can't help but think DeVito would have embraced the absurdist humor of the source material and would have consequentially made a much better film. Instead, we're left with a barely watchable comedy that feels like a sadly missed opportunity. If you do want a GOOD comedy about second tier superheroes, watch James Gunn's underrated "The Specials" or his darker superhero comedy "Super" instead.
david-sarkies The year is 1999 and the place is Champion City and all of the super villains are either dead or behind bars, so in a city over run with super heroes, there is no work. So the greatest super hero, Captain Amazing, decides to manipulate a few things to keep his sponsorship, and releases Cassanova Frankinstein. Unfortunately Cassanova gets the better of him and kills him so it is up to a hopeless trio: the Blue Rajah, The Shovel, and Mr Furious, to get him back. Unfortunately they are hopeless so they recruit some more, landing up with the Invisible Man, the Spleen, and the Bowler's daughter. Then the Sphinx, a mysterious figure, turns up to train them.This movie, which is actually based on a comic series of the same name, is a farce of super hero movies. The mad inventor emphasises that all of his inventions are non-lethal, the Blue Rajah throws spoons and forks, but not knives, the Shovel is married with kids and his wife tries to tell him that maybe the superhero business is not cut out for him, and nobody finds Mr Furious threatening, at all.It is a cute little movie and deals with these mystery men's right of ascension. Now that Captain Amazing is dead, a new lot of super heroes are needed, and unfortunately all they have are these guys. The Blue Rajah lives with his mother and Mr Furious is trying too hard to be something that he is not. In the end, when Mr Furious comes to terms with who he really is, a guy named Roy, then he becomes Mr Furious.This is a pretty cool movie, and I do recommend it, but it is not one that stands out so much that one would want to see it again and again. I guess there is a little criticism here, but in the end any comment that it would want to make, simply falls down into a pool of laughs and weirdness. It may be weird, but it is not the weird that makes me interested in the movie.
Foxbarking Mystery Men is one of the few movies that I remember being exceptionally excited about. Although I was not familiar with the Flaming Carrot comics, I remember seeing the huge advertising campaign for this movie and became exceptionally curious.My sister and I went to see this when it was released and I have to admit it is still one of my favorite cinematic experiences ever. I actually expected the Mystery Men to rescue Captain Amazing and let him save the day. Looking back, I realize how terrible that would have been. Captain Amazing was a total ass and solely responsible for every death in the movie. Rather than go such an off route, we got to see a group of people who may not be talented, but have heart and soul unlike any other super heroes. . As corny as it is, this movie reminded me a lot of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. There was an expected corniness about it, but you still find yourself routing for it.The performances are all amazing. This is William H. Macy's movie. He took the Shoveler from an unsure man lacking direction and made him into the leader of this team. He seems to lack the ability to see the obvious, being at first surprised at the idea of teamwork and then assuming incorrectly that the Sphinx would be a good leader. He becomes the leader when he realizes that they have to be heroes not for themselves, but to protect the people they love and the people they have never met. Ben Stiller, the most hated actor I have ever watched, was actually fun to watch as Mr. Furious. I don't think Geoffrey Rush has ever given a bad performance.I'll never understand why this movie bombed like it did. I love it and will remember it forever.
Leofwine_draca I'm not sure why I watched this, as I hate a lot of comedies and I'm sure to avoid the kind of films that Ben Stiller makes in particular. But I do try and watch superhero films, and the synopsis of this one sounded interesting, to say the least: a group of would-be crime-fighters, with pathetic superpowers, attempt to beat an arch villain. There's a premise with potential, if nothing else.Sadly, what I ended up watching was a heavily sanitised Hollywood film with an oh-so predictable outcome: that by working together and putting faith in each other, this rag-tag group of misfits can end up winning the day. Literally every step of the film is signposted from the beginning, from Stiller's tired romance with an extraneous Claire Forlani to the bad guy's plans for world domination. Even worse, the humour sucks. One guy is flatulent, another guy thinks he's invisible when he's not, and the wit never goes any deeper than that.I realised, in the end, that I was watching a kid's film made on a totally undemanding level. It's a shame, because there are some fine actors appearing here, not least William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Geoffrey Rush and Wes Studi, but in the end MYSTERY MEN is cheesy, dated and dull. It took another 11 years for a film to put some real bite into a superhero parody: watch KICK-ASS to see how this should have been done.