Thursday, 4 August 2011

Film Review - "Super" (18)

After watching Juno a few years ago at the cinema - and then countless other times on DVD at home, I am always compelled to watch films starring Ellen Paige.  Some of these have been amazing - her role in Inception wasn't the lead, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, however, Hard Candy was another story all together, and the less said about that, the better.  Anyway, the main reason that I wanted to watch Super was because of the usually laid back, witty actress's appearance.  I had seen some movie trailers for it online, and eagerly waited for it's cinema release...and waited...and waited...until I saw a TV trailer - advertising it's DVD and Blu-Ray release.  This alone should have caused alarm bells to ring, but instead, I excitedly purchased it, and rushed home to watch it.

The easy comparison to make would be to Kick Ass - an Average Joe creating a superhero persona in order to change things, however, Super isn't that easy to categorise.  It features a lot of genuinely funny, sometimes silly comedy, which I naively thought was the main idea of the film.  However, a much darker side is revealed, with themes of drug use, paedophilia, and extreme violence.  While Kick Ass flawlessly balanced the comedy with violence in a way that made it all seem reasonable and integral to the plot, Super seemed to use the darker elements gratuitously, making me feel guilty for laughing at the funny parts.

I genuinely can't decide if I liked this film or not.  I feel that if I watch it again sometime, I may not be as shocked, find the comedy even funnier than the first time around, and decide that I did enjoy it (that may seem like an odd conclusion to come to, but watching Napoleon Dynamite for the fist time left me confused.  The second time I watched it, it was hilarious, and it is now one of my favourite films, so you never know!)  however, I would not recommend this film to my friends, for fear of making them think that I am a bit mad.

If you are not faint hearted, and are looking for something that combines comedy with brutal violence, I'd say, give it a watch! If not, maybe this film isn't for you.

1 comment:

  1. I would just like to add that I have just discovered this, and think that it is absolutley amazing! The Kight Warrior is my hero!

    http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1453914_video-weeding-out-evil---the-gardener-who-patrols-streets-of-salford-as-superhero-knight-warrior

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