Mystery Men – Review

Set in Champion City, the world is instantly exotic and zany compared to our own. During a party for the rich elderly, Big Red (Lange) and the Red Eyes Gang bust it up. They begin to rifle through belongings, taking anything of value, even prosthetic limbs.

This makes the local heroes quite upset. As Blue Raja (Azaria), Shoveler (Macy) and Mr. Furious (Stiller) appear, forks are flying, garden instruments are swung, and anger boils over. They are relatively ineffective, but thankfully Captain Amazing (Kinnear) shows up and saves the day. Yay for CA, who was indeed amazing, boo for our trio of wanna- be’s.

They are just looking to place themselves on the pedestal for once, but the Captain really did the work. Will he recognize these crime fighters’ hard work? Maybe Doctor Heller (Waits) who offers the team some new firepower will lead to a stronger team? The public doesn’t seem to care about our trio, as the city already has their hero in Captain Amazing. Will our men ever find their foothold as heroes and win over everyone? What if they add some new members…?

Mystery Men is based on a comic and never quite found its audience as a film. Some people absolutely hate this movie. For me, it’s okay, however I do not know the source material. The film creates a capitalistic satirical society that compares to our own despite being over the top and sarcastic.

The characters are exaggerated, silly and motivated by simple needs. The story is straightforward, but does the job. The cartoony world constructed has some interesting elements, but does feel a bit underdeveloped. Acting wise, it should be stated that the hammy presentation of some characters is fully done on purpose, and to fit the type of film it is trying to be. Dialogue is okay and a few jokes work for me, while plenty did not.

Those looking for a serious super hero show will not like this. Those looking for a spoof or parody also will not be pleased. Those willing to try and take this for what it presents itself as, which is a silly but serious vibe, will have a better shot at having it land with them. The film definitely runs too long, but there is some okay content inside for adventurous viewers.

What could have made this more appealing to all? Maybe an even goofier script pushing a bit more into the comedy and satire, as well as some snazzier directing giving off a quicker pace or utilizing some creative editing. Despite being a bit plain all things considered, Mystery Men is okay and holds a ton of good actors which all do a good job. Champion City looks okay overall, and holds a few interesting inhabitants. If you dig the whole atmosphere, you will like it more than I did.

Warning: This film contains usage of the song “All-star” by Smashmouth.