Mystery Men – Monday 12th May 2025

I remember when this movie came out, back in ‘99, with the music video for ‘All Star’ (by Smash Mouth) tearing up the charts and featuring plenty of clips from the movie. I miss those days, back when film’s would have a tie-in with songs, and the only glimpses you’d get to see from the film were in trailers and music videos…

1999 was a vintage year in the history of cinema; there were so many amazing films to see, that I didn’t bother with Mystery Men, despite being an avid reader of comic books. To be honest, it just looked to cheesy, and reminded me of the type of comic book movies I’d rather forget, i.e. those by Joel Schumacher!

Anyway, fast-forward 26 years, and I FINALLY watched it, and it was GOOD!

It’s one of those movies that was waaaaay ahead of it’s time, and with the over-saturation of Super Hero movies in cinema, this comedy about that genre, and a bunch of losers masquerading as super-heroes, is more prescient and funnier than it would have been when it was released.

The visuals and effects still hold up, as do the jokes! The characters are genuinely funny and endearing; juggling the real world ridiculousness of what they do, with their belief that they’re actual heroes, is jokes!

Claire Forlani and Janeane Garofalo pretty much steal the show; one for her beauty, and the other for her comedy.

All in all, it’s a pretty sweet film; not the funniest you’ll ever see, or the most action packed, but it is good fun, so definitely seek it out, especially if you have a fondness for the genre, but are sick of all the crap Marvel are pumping out these days.