Deletia

I’m fascinated with the concept of realistic imaginings of what a superhero would be like. Not, mind you, mulling over what they do in the bathroom or whether they can play organized sports, but rather how our world—as it is—would give rise and react to a “superhero.”

The last year has given us two of the strongest ever entires in what was once a pretty thin selection of quality and insightful work. In fact, the two most recent (Chronicle (2012) and Super (2011)) may be the cream of the crop. If you haven’t seen them, you must.

This, then, would be the lineup in a hypothetical Real Superhero Film Festival lineup:

Watchmen [1]

Unbreakable [2]

Chronicle [3]

Super [4]

I could have included 2010’s Kick-Ass, but I consider it a distant fourth for minor reasons of quality and, to be frank, a less interesting angle on the “real superhero” question. Rather than try to pin it down myself, I’ll instead quote The Escapist’s "Movie Bob on what Super does right:

Writer/director James Gunn’s Super isn’t the first film built around this sort of “real-life” superhero (indeed, it was written several years before the phenomenon really took off), but it differentiates itself by looking for a bigger picture. While films like Kick-Ass are about costumed crimefighting as either wish-fulfillment or brutal reality checks for so-called “fanboys,” Super broadens its scope to encompass the effects of a superhero-saturated culture on those with otherwise no connection to the genre. Its hero, Frank D’Arbo, has never cracked a comic book until after he decides to become “The Crimson Bolt.”

I doubt you’ll leave my little film fest exhilarated, uplifted, or optimistic in any way. In fact—unless you sleep through the whole thing—I’d be surprised if you didn’t need several hours of kitten-petting therapy afterwards. But I do guarantee a thorough mental and emotional workout.

I know I’m in the minority here, but I don’t care.  ↩

Before M. Night Shyamalan ran out of great ideas.  ↩

Seriously! It’s written by John Landis’ kid and the cast is first-rate (it even has poor, doomed Wallace from The Wire, all growed-up).  ↩

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