Friday, March 1, 2013

SUPER (2010) - gifs


A genuinely smart and hilarious firebombing of the superhero mystique, Super (2010) achieves what Kick-Ass couldn't quite manage.  You see, a dude running around in spandex and beating up people in the real world just isn't clean and logical like it is in comic books or the movies.  Rainn Wilson plays a hopeless schlub whose life is in the shitter, so he decides to dress up like a schmuck (yes, a schlub disguised as a schmuck), dub himself "The Crimson Bolt", and then unleash his hidden violent tendencies and take his schlubby frustrations on people engaging in any kind of criminal behavior.  Any at all.  If he spots some dude buying a dimebag, he pulls out his trusty red wrench and beats him within an inch of his life.  This is why real law and order requires checks and balances; the most morally indigent citizens also tend to be crazies, and justice can be a pretty emotionally childish endeavor.  When the justification for violence is backed by childish emotion, stupidity, or just plain old nutbaggery, bad shit usually results.  Take a look at Mr. Bolt enthusiastically attempting to thwart a purse snatcher:



Here he is conveying psychotic glee over practically killing someone for some mild offense.  Funny shit, no doubt, but I wouldn't want this guy to be my next door neighbor.


In its own way, Super is the most realistic superhero movie of them all.  If Batman was really real, he 'd probably be more like this, even though the Nolan films are considered bcnchmarks of superhero realism.  Just remember kids: vigilante violence just isn't a good idea, no matter how self-righteous you are.  If the city you love has been overrun by crime...fuck it, just move.

8 comments:

  1. I totally agree, and really liked Super. Kick-Ass had absolutely loathsome characters - really narcissistic and not at all believable. I also felt like the movie wanted us to cheer them on... Frank in Super was still a psychopath, but the film never condoned what he was doing. I also felt like his motives were a bit more fleshed out and I didn't completely hate his guts at the end.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll go one step further...he was likeable, despite being psychotic. Rainn really pulled it off. The kid in Kick-Ass didn't seem to have any motivation really for wanting to become a superhero.

      Delete
    2. Thinking back on it, I did like him, but I wasn't sure how much of that was my like for Rainn being carried over from other roles!

      Delete
    3. I haven't seen him in much. I'll try to check out The Rocker now.

      Delete
  2. "Super (2010) achieves what Kick-Ass couldn't quite manage" - exactly my thoughts!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't steal your thoughts if that's what you're implying. I believe it's just a coincidence.

      Delete
  3. Rainn Wilson looks like Terry Hawkins from Last House on Dead End Street, especially when he does that demented aside in the fire escape gif.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That cuz Terry always had his crazy face on, where as Rainn only has it on when he's beating people up.

      Delete