Mystery Men (1999)
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A team of lesser superheroes with unimpressive powers must step up to save the day when the city's primary hero is captured by a criminal genius.
The story
In Champion City, an amateur superhero team consisting of Mr. Furious, the Shoveler, and the Blue Raja struggles to gain recognition due to their inexperience and dubious abilities, constantly being upstaged by the arrogant Captain Amazing. When Amazing's corporate sponsorships dry up, he uses his alter ego, billionaire lawyer Lance Hunt, to release his nemesis, Casanova Frankenstein, from an asylum. However, Casanova captures Amazing and prepares to use the 'Psycho-frakulator' machine to destroy the city. The amateur team must find allies and improve their skills to intervene in the escalating crisis.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In Champion City, the amateur superhero team of Mr. Furious, the Shoveler, and the Blue Raja struggle for fame while being upstaged by the arrogant Captain Amazing. To boost his own relevance, Amazing uses his billionaire lawyer persona, Lance Hunt, to release his nemesis, Casanova Frankenstein, from an asylum. Casanova captures Amazing and prepares to use the 'Psycho-frakulator' to destroy the city. The amateur team, after a failed rescue, recruits Invisible Boy, the Spleen, and the Bowler. They are trained by the enigmatic Sphinx and seek non-lethal weapons from Doc Heller. During a summit of the city's gangs, the team breaks into Casanova's mansion to free Amazing but accidentally activates the Psycho-frakulator, killing him. Despite their despair, the team manages to assault the mansion and defeat the henchmen. When Casanova takes Monica hostage and activates the machine, Furious unleashes his powers to throw Casanova into the core, killing him. The team then destroys the machine and escapes the imploding mansion. Afterward, they are swarmed by reporters demanding a group name.
- First release year
- 1999
- Runtime (minutes)
- 120
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kinka Usher
- Writers
- Neil Cuthbert · writer
- Cast and characters
- Hank Azaria; Claire Forlani; Janeane Garofalo; Eddie Izzard; Greg Kinnear; William H. Macy; Kel Mitchell; Lena Olin; Paul Reubens; Geoffrey Rush; Ben Stiller · Mr. Furious; Wes Studi; Tom Waits
- Genres
- action comedy; superhero comedy
- Themes
- Persistence; Courage; Sacrifice; Teamwork
- Tone and mood
- Quirky; Edgy; Humorous; Surrealistic
- Premise and plot tags
- Superhero Spoof; Cult Film; Action Comedy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Bob Burden's Flaming Carrot Comics
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was eventually acknowledged as a cult film. It was noted for its talented cast and quirky gags, though some critics found it tiresome or self-conscious.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 59% · review count: 103; Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 24; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended to be directed by Danny DeVito, but negotiations broke down.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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