I'm a huge fan of comic book writer/artist Bob Burden. The Flaming Carrot by Burden remains my favorite comic of all-time. The Mystery Men was a spinoff series from The Flaming Carrot, about a league of second tier super heroes of which The Carrot was a member. The story concept of wannabe superheroes and villains is ripe for comedy, since self-serious comic book movies are ripe for satire, but what ends up on screen here sadly is not all that funny or biting. The humor of the comic books were decidedly absurdist and wildly funny if you appreciate that sense of humor, but the humor of the film is much more conventional and revolves more around silly super powers, purposefully corny dialogue, and fart jokes. The film is only made watchable by virtue of it's stellar cast (William H. Macy as The Shoveler, Hank Azaria as Blue Raja, Janeane Garofalo as The Bowler, Paul Reubens as The Spleen Ben Stiller as Mr. Furious, Wes Studi as The Sphinx, Geoffrey Rush as Casanova Frankenstein, Lena Olin as Dr. Anabel Leek, Eddie Izzard as Tony P, Artie Lange as Big Red, Claire Forlani as Monica, Tom Waits as Doc Heller, Louise Lasser as Violet, Ricky Jay as Vic Weems, Dane Cook as The Waffler, Doug Jones as Pencilhead, Dana Gould as Squeegeeman). Greg Kinnear also appears in the film as the one top tier superhero, Captain Amazing, who when he is captured by villains, the Mystery Men have to step up to save him and Champion City. The film also includes odd cameos and bit parts by Michael Bay, Mark Mothersbaugh, Riki Rachtman, CeeLo Green, Jody Watley,, Doug Jones, and Dana Gould. The film was (over) directed by commercial director Kinka Usher, who has since directed no other feature films, but I think a majority of the film's failure lies with the script by Neil Cuthbert, who's other writing credits include the notable Eddie Murphy bomb, "The Adventures of Pluto Nash." According to IMDB, Danny DeVito was at one point set to direct and star as The Shoveller, and I can't help but think DeVito would have embraced the absurdist humor of the source material and would have consequentially made a much better film. Instead, we're left with a barely watchable comedy that feels like a sadly missed opportunity. If you do want a GOOD comedy about second tier superheroes, watch James Gunn's underrated "The Specials" or his darker superhero comedy "Super" instead.

It's hard to imagine a year go by where you don't see someone in a latex body-stocking flying through the sky while buildings crumble all around them. Or, in other words, a superhero movie. Marvel's dominance reigns supreme these days and DC does its best to mop up any gap in the filmic calendar year that Marvel don't already have a stranglehold on. However, back in the 'olden days' of 1999, just dressing someone up in a silly costume wasn't enough to guarantee a billion dollars at the Box Office. That's probably why 'Mystery Men' never really made much of an impact back then and only really fills a niche gap in the market today. We're introduced to a world of superheroes, or rather ONE superhero – the unsubtly-titled 'Captain Amazing' – a man who has dedicated his life to protecting the city from wrong-doers and has therefore enjoyed all the lucrative benefits that come with it, i.e. corporate sponsorship and women. In fact, he's protected the city so well that there's hardly a super villain left worthy enough to take him on. So, while he spends much of his time as his (completely unrecognisable, glasses-wearing) alter-ego, it's up to another band of 'heroes' to mop up the few thieves still daring to snatch old ladies' purses. However, these heroes are anything but 'super.' Their 'powers' are unusual at best. We have a man who gets angry to the point of, er, being very angry. A man who puts on a fake British accent while he throws forks and a guy who hits people with a shovel. Not a Batarang to be seen among them! Nowadays, when you look at the cast of 'Mystery Men' it almost reads like a who's who of Hollywood. Yet, back then all the stars seemed to be faces who you kind of knew because you'd seen them before in… oh, you know… it was him out of that thing on TV. You have Ben Stiller, William H Macy, Greg Kinnear, Eddie Izzard and Geoffrey Rush to name but a few. It's a pretty impressive ensemble, so I always wondered why it was never bigger than it seemed to be. I guess at the time people may have thought it was a superhero movie and, due to the public seemingly thinking that all superhero movies were like 'Batman and Robin' they stayed away, plus Ben Stiller's star hadn't quite peaked back then, so it couldn't ride on his future post 'Something About Mary' popularity. Plus it might be difficult to market, as, on first inspection, you could be mistaken for thinking it was a 'proper' superhero film, i.e. complete with giant budget and epic action set-pieces. Then again, if you look closely at the silly costumes and the fact that one woman is using the skull of her father inside a 'magic' bowling ball as a weapon, you could be forgiven for thinking that it's a straight comedy. However, again, it may have many funny moments, but you wouldn't call it a 'laugh-a-minute' ride.'Mystery Men' is one of those films that dips in and out of various genres. Personally, I'd call it a 'satire of the superhero genre.' Now, I enjoy both DC and Marvel's current crops so I like to think I'm well up on the various conventions and clichés associated with the genre. Therefore, when I watch 'Mystery Men' I can appreciate how much work has gone into lampooning it. However, when it was released the genre it was parodying wasn't established enough to really sell this movie. If you're looking for something that takes a satirical, yet loving, swipe at all things superhero-related, then you should definitely check this out. Don't expect total action. Don't expect outright comedy. Expect a subtle blend of the two. If you've ever read the cult comic 'Astro City' you'll know the tone of this film.

I am spinal injuredI saw this when I was younger and thought it was incredibly stupid. I thought that over time I had become more accepting of slapstick films and gave it another try..... No, I was right the first time. Horrible. It has a couple of clever lines but immediately in the first scene of the film you start to wonder if the writer(s) were still in middle school. The jokes are often random and go off on a tangent. I suffered through it hoping it might end with at least one good laugh. I felt so bad for leaving this on while my wife was in the room I immediately cooked her dinner and dessert and admitted that it was truly one of the most painful films i've ever seen (up there with catwoman i'd say). On the upside if you like movies like "dude, wheres my car" and "spy kids", then you'll love this heaping pile of dung.

Mystery Men is one of the few movies that I remember being exceptionally excited about. Although I was not familiar with the Flaming Carrot comics, I remember seeing the huge advertising campaign for this movie and became exceptionally curious.My sister and I went to see this when it was released and I have to admit it is still one of my favorite cinematic experiences ever. I actually expected the Mystery Men to rescue Captain Amazing and let him save the day. Looking back, I realize how terrible that would have been. Captain Amazing was a total ass and solely responsible for every death in the movie. Rather than go such an off route, we got to see a group of people who may not be talented, but have heart and soul unlike any other super heroes. . As corny as it is, this movie reminded me a lot of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. There was an expected corniness about it, but you still find yourself routing for it.The performances are all amazing. This is William H. Macy's movie. He took the Shoveler from an unsure man lacking direction and made him into the leader of this team. He seems to lack the ability to see the obvious, being at first surprised at the idea of teamwork and then assuming incorrectly that the Sphinx would be a good leader. He becomes the leader when he realizes that they have to be heroes not for themselves, but to protect the people they love and the people they have never met. Ben Stiller, the most hated actor I have ever watched, was actually fun to watch as Mr. Furious. I don't think Geoffrey Rush has ever given a bad performance.I'll never understand why this movie bombed like it did. I love it and will remember it forever.