Clever superhero parody

Rating: Null/10 (29 January 2014)

A film that teeters just at the edge of parody and satire. Its take on superheroes, both real-life and fictional, is both dark and twisted, empowering and admiring. Throughout the first act you feel like the film could have gone either way, either openly mocking the very idea of someone becoming an actual superhero, costume and all, or allowing some room for the coolness of the idea. In the end their selected route is the one that allows for some really satisfying action scenes and a lot of innate awesomeness, but some wicked part of me still wishes for more scenes like the opening one where a man tries out his wings for the first time. Perfect opening and mood setter for the whole ordeal.
Nevertheless, what we end up getting is one of the better comedy films I've seen in a long time. Yet it still is a workable action film, but with a great sense of humour. The weirdness of the situation is never denied and there are many pauses where even the characters take a break and just look at one another wondering: "Just what are we doing, man?" But, as stated, it's also a rather dark film, which is reflected in the storyline and some of the twists. Sometimes this dichotomy leads to some rather jarring mood whiplashes, but for the most part it works surprisingly well. The film makers have paced the film well. When it needs to be serious, you believe in its vision, and when it needs to be funny, you'll find yourself laughing, even while admiring the brutality of its action scenes.
In the end I found myself liking this film. It's a strong movie character-wise, the action scenes are very effective and it's a genuinely funny film. The story lacks that razor sharpness that would have propelled this into an instant classic, but it's by no means bad. I mostly blame the indecisiveness of the mood for this. Still, easily worth checking out if you like good action comedies.