Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet
This is the third of a three-part
review series of the films of Yolanda Torres. They are in chronological order,
over the past three days. These three films were all written by Joan Alvarez.
The Supers (aka The Supers!)
Directed by Yolanda Torres
aFilm International Film Workshop; Easy Stiges
101 minutes, 2017 / 2020
www.easystiges.com
Recently, comic book superhero films have been
mega-gigantic, CGI-driven extravaganzas, with a cast of thousands, a cost of multi-millions,
and scenes of destruction left and right. Be it the Marvel or DC universe, it
has been mostly the top elite of the super crowd, with the likes of Batman, Superman,
Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, Black Widow, etc.
It’s only been recently that some of the
lesser characters have been getting some screen time, with the likes of the Suicide
Squad (DC), the Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming The New
Mutants (both Marvel), to some success. Well, let me take a step back here,
because while that timeline is true of the major film players, the indie films
have been busy in that department for years, with varying success (story-wise,
not financially). For example, there is the joyous and raucous Kick-Ass
(2010), and just on this blog alone, I’ve reviewed some outrageous ones (The
Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes, 2004), the humorous superheroes (The
League of Superheroes aka The ABCs of Superheroes, 2015), the and then
the downright dour and ludicrous (The Rise of the Black Bat, 2012).
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| Sarah Tyler Shaw and David Chevers |
Actually, I find the minor releases more
interesting than the X-Men and Justice League superstars, because
usually they are shown as more “human.” That is where The Supers comes
in. We are introduced into a world where both DC and Marvel characters exist
and mutant powers are somewhat culturally normalized, though we never meet
them, of course, thanks to copyright laws.
Among those who we do encounter are our three
leads, who all live in the City of Justice: first, there is Paul, the Atomic
Avenger (David Chevers), whose power is Telekinesis (he can move things or
people with his mind, or pop them out and then in where he wants) but suffers
from a severe fear of the dark; Tyler, the Restoress (Sarah Tyler Shaw), has
the power to heal but is OCD and has a fear of germs; and then there is Stan Kirby
(great name that’s a mix of combo of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, which is – err – Marvelous)
who is Pulseman (Ross Ellis), and whose power is EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse)
and has debilitating claustrophobia.
Heading it off is Dark
Ness (Claudia Trujillo), who can use mental control but has narcolepsy, and
whose costume looks a bit like Darth Vader’s (or perhaps Dark Helmet’s, from 1986’s
Spaceballs), who has dreams of being a supervillain instead. Her lone
henchman is a security guard named Frank (Marco Dollenz), one of my two
favorite characters in the film for some reason.
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| Marco Dollenz and Claudia Trujillo |
The essential premise
is that this threesome’s minor powers are overshadowed by their weaknesses, so
their Superhero licenses are rescinded, and they are forced to take the most menial
of jobs (e.g., telemarketer), which even with that they struggle for various
reasons.
But, of course, there
is an assignment given to them by the superhero Powers That Be through Bob (Ian
Breeds), to join together and retrieve a stolen object that is important to those
Powers. Are they up for the task? We find out starting with the Second Act of
the film.
This is both a simple
story and a complex one, because of the human element (i.e., very Marvel-esque
in that way). The characters are all likeable, even Dark Ness and Frank. Everyone
is trying to live their lives with all its foibles, and yet most still do some
good in the world. This mix of simple comic book-level story with a tendency
not to talk down to its audience or complex characters gives the viewer a sharp
new look at a (especially recently) well-used theme of superheroes; yes, even
the complicated and conflicted ones, like Batman and Spiderman.
There is a very sharp and
dark sense of humor and self-awareness that flows through the veins of the story,
without it being – dare I say it – too comic book-ish. Even with the comic book
framework of “cells” that separate scenes, this is more story and heart than
bang-bang (though there is some of that, as well). Barcelona is a beautiful city,
and we get to see some angular buildings that fit well into that “cell”
framework, though I wonder about all the empty streets that we see; I found
that kind of interesting and distracting at the same time, but that’s just me.
Oh, and by the way, my
second favorite character is the Pizza Guy (Marc Dennis), perhaps for his
involvement in anchovy pizzas, which happens to be my favorite kind (seriously).
Meanwhile, I really feel it would be cool if this would continue and there could
be sequels, but kept at this level, not as a mega-film.
The Supers trailer HERE.
