Rating: 
Summary: The movie Mystery Men should have been!
Review: Not as good as regular superheroes, but definitely better than you! The Specials, comprised of the sixth or seventh greatest superhero team in the world, need to improve their image. Unfortunately, they spend more time bickering about love affairs, finances and publicity, then they do catching Super Villains. However, The Specials' luck may soon change The Weevil (Rob Lowe), The Strobe (Thomas Hadden Church), Amok (Jamie Kennedy) and the rest of the The Specials hope to gain immortality with their own line of action figures...the superhero equivalent of an Academy Award. I briefly heard about this movie late last year in radio promos. Even then it had sounded interesting. However, when it opened in Manhattan I was sure it would come to my town, but then it was gone. I felt cheated and rightfully so. This is a damn good movie. Now I have to warn you this is not an action movie, there is now spectacular effects, it is about these people, these superheroes lives. Having said that, the movie is a marvel of independant film making. The script shines and the characters remain true to themselves as they would in any good drama, and this, for all intents and purposes is a superhero drama. I found myself enjoying these character's company, and wondered what their lives would be like after the film faded to black. If you are a fan of any of the actor's or if you even remotely like comic books you must check this movie out. I know what you are saying, been there done that with Mystery Men, That movie left me very disappointed, this one made up for that disappointment.
Rating: 
Summary: going to special school
Review: something that i didnt see in any of the current reviews is a mention that this is kind of a mock-u-mentary. what does that mean??? well, for one it means that the production values are low, likely because of a lack of budget, but i would argue that the production value complements and plays with the nature of the specials, the 6th or 7th greatest super team. one guy gave this film a 1, wich i do not agree with at all. from reading the review, it seems to me that this person was looking for an 'eye candy' movie, which, usually superhero movies are predisposed to being, but this film is entirely driven by the characters. the movie would have been fine without the 2 min of effects at the end, and i was suprized to see them, they did in fact look better than the production value of the rest of the film suggested, very likely that is where a good hunk of the films budget went. it is realy tempting to give this movie more than 4, but i dont think it deserves 5. i am a fan of Thomas Hadden Church, and though this is not one of his best roles, fans of him, or the other actors will like this movie
Rating:
Summary: going to special school
Review: something that i didnt see in any of the current reviews is a mention that this is kind of a mock-u-mentary. what does that mean??? well, for one it means that the production values are low, likely because of a lack of budget, but i would argue that the production value complements and plays with the nature of the specials, the 6th or 7th greatest super team. one guy gave this film a 1, wich i do not agree with at all. from reading the review, it seems to me that this person was looking for an 'eye candy' movie, which, usually superhero movies are predisposed to being, but this film is entirely driven by the characters. the movie would have been fine without the 2 min of effects at the end, and i was suprized to see them, they did in fact look better than the production value of the rest of the film suggested, very likely that is where a good hunk of the films budget went. it is realy tempting to give this movie more than 4, but i dont think it deserves 5. i am a fan of Thomas Hadden Church, and though this is not one of his best roles, fans of him, or the other actors will like this movie
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Superhero Movie Ever
Review: Superheroes that never use their powers are not actually superheroes. Instead, they are pretty much just regular people with regular problems, which makes this movie extremely booooorrrrrring. Where's the special effects budget? Nobody knows. Save two hours of your life, go read the Watchmen or Astro City graphics novels. What the heck were they thinking?
Rating:
Summary: An Overlooked Comedy
Review: The movie: I saw this movie last year at the San Diego comic convention with a very enthuiastic crowd. The Specials features a great cast of relative unknowns that put on some excellent performances. The laughs come often and there are some truly original jokes that will have your jaw on the floor. While the story seems to falter in some areas, the strength of the characters will have you interested all the way through this movie. The DVD: It's packed with some very cool stuff. High points: The commentary track, deleted scenes, and toy commercial (based on the superhero characters from the movie) are all very cool. Final Thoughts: This movie came and went without much fanfare, but you won't be disappointed in the movie or the quality of this DVD. I recommend it fully.
Rating:
Summary: A real superhero spoof
Review: The Specials are not in the forefront of superhero teams. They're not in the rear either, they're the heroes who handle the oddball jobs because they're the oddballs. However, all is not well behind the scenes - jealousies, relations, and a desire to not be so behind the superhero curve mean this is a rather dysfunctional superhero family. It's Spinal Tap meets the Mystery Men as this band of second-string superheroes vainly tries to be something when their worst enemies are themselves. This is an odd, but engaging film, done on an extremely low budget. It's not the best edited, there's points in the scripting that seem poorly handled or slapped on. Much as the heroes it portrays, it's a low-level film trying to do its best. Overall, it works. In some cases, surprisingly well. Seeing a disgruntled superhero debating going back to the supervillany of his youth is a wonderful touch. This film is not for everyone - its strange, sometimes crude, and chaotic. If you're a fan of the Mystery Men, Doom Patrol, and comics about the weirdoes, and like your humor with a sharper edge, this may be for you. This is a cult hit waiting to happen.
Rating:
Summary: An uneven, but creative and clever film with heart
Review: The Specials are not in the forefront of superhero teams. They're not in the rear either, they're the heroes who handle the oddball jobs because they're the oddballs. However, all is not well behind the scenes - jealousies, relations, and a desire to not be so behind the superhero curve mean this is a rather dysfunctional superhero family. It's Spinal Tap meets the Mystery Men as this band of second-string superheroes vainly tries to be something when their worst enemies are themselves. This is an odd, but engaging film, done on an extremely low budget. It's not the best edited, there's points in the scripting that seem poorly handled or slapped on. Much as the heroes it portrays, it's a low-level film trying to do its best. Overall, it works. In some cases, surprisingly well. Seeing a disgruntled superhero debating going back to the supervillany of his youth is a wonderful touch. This film is not for everyone - its strange, sometimes crude, and chaotic. If you're a fan of the Mystery Men, Doom Patrol, and comics about the weirdoes, and like your humor with a sharper edge, this may be for you. This is a cult hit waiting to happen.
Rating:
Summary: This is a really funny movie
Review: The Specials is proof positive that large budgets do nothing but stifle creative freedom. Monty Pythons Holy Grail and Life of Brian were great movies because they didn't have any money and were forced to be creative. Similarly The Specials obviously had no budget and so they couldn't get lazy. This was really a funny clever movie with lot of great jibbs at the super-hero genre. There's going to be a natural comparision between this and Mystery Men (which sucked). The best stuff in Mystery Men was the low budget, hanging out at the diner after the fight banter and that's all The Specials has. Great movie!!
Rating:
Summary: In Spinal Tap's League, but wish they had a budget
Review: This isn't a film for everyone: if you grew up reading comic books and you like Spinal Tap or the underplayed style of British humor, you'll laugh your tuckus off. Like 'Free Enterprise' by the same company, this film is fun if you don't get the endless comicbook in-jokes, a scream if you do. However, if you're looking for splashy fight scenes, special effects or American-style (some might say "infantile") humor, you'll be sorely disappointed. (Watch Mystery Men instead.) I do wish they had a bit more of a budget; the documentary/drama style of the film seems to be building towards a climactic superhero battle that never happens. The script is so skillfully-written otherwise I suspect the climactic scene was written but cut for budget reasons. So keep the "no superheroic payoff" in mind, fill your living room with comic book geeks some night and otaku mightily.
Rating:
Summary: In Spinal Tap's League, but wish they had a budget
Review: This isn't a film for everyone: if you grew up reading comic books and you like Spinal Tap or the underplayed style of British humor, you'll laugh your tuckus off. Like 'Free Enterprise' by the same company, this film is fun if you don't get the endless comicbook in-jokes, a scream if you do. However, if you're looking for splashy fight scenes, special effects or American-style (some might say "infantile") humor, you'll be sorely disappointed. (Watch Mystery Men instead.) I do wish they had a bit more of a budget; the documentary/drama style of the film seems to be building towards a climactic superhero battle that never happens. The script is so skillfully-written otherwise I suspect the climactic scene was written but cut for budget reasons. So keep the "no superheroic payoff" in mind, fill your living room with comic book geeks some night and otaku mightily.
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