if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Mystery Men is a parody of superhero movies. If the current plethora of serious movies are not your cup of tea, then Mystery Men might be what you need.Of the entire cast, The Shoveler, the Bowler and Blue Raja were the most memorable characters. In particular, I liked seeing the Bowler interact with her father via the bowling bowl, plus some of her lines were hilarious to listen to. 'No, the guy at the pro-shop did it.' Heck, a lot of the dialogue in the movie had me laughing. It's easily one of Mystery Men's strong points.However, the fight scenes could have been better. 'The superheroes with lame powers' premise should have been played up to ridiculous and gut-busting levels by featuring over-the-top fight sequences with said powers. They had the right idea with the Disco Boys and their interactions with the protagonists, but ultimately, I feel the opportunity for laughs was squandered with the somewhat underwhelming fights, especially the one between Mr. Furious and Casanova Frankenstein.And speaking of him, despite having a cool name, Casanova Frankenstein doesn't really do anything memorable aside from keeping Captain Amazing hostage. I mean, he's got some funny lines of dialogue, but I also wanted to see him do more villainous things with a helping of comedy thrown in. I kind of wish he had fought the Mystery Men at least once before the climax at the mansion to show the viewer how threatening he can be. Instead, we mostly see him acting kooky with other villains. I think they could have made him kooky AND powerful, like with actually threatening powers. It would have been pretty awesome to see the Mystery Men defeat a super-villain despite lacking the advantage of, well, real superpowers.I give it a 5.5/10. The comedy is the main attraction here, and it mostly delivers. The two hour runtime can feel like overkill, but MM deserves be viewed at least once.

I've always been both fascinated and puzzled by Mystery Men. It's essentially a titanic budget spent on a bunch of inane tomfoolery that makes sense neither as satire, straight up comedy, serious superhero fare or anything in between. And yet, it's so much fun, coming out a complete winner despite any odds it dodges on the way. I bring it up because Suicide Squad is coming soon, and for whatever reason every trailer and bit of marketing for it so far reminds me of this one. Couldn't even really say why, just something about the vibe and aesthetic of both films that seems distantly related. Could just be me being strange, which is the word in question for this one. It's bizarre beyond belief, stylized to a point where Dr. Seuss would get dizzy and full of abstract, off the wall humour that requires you to coast along in the same delirium as the characters before you really get it. It takes place in Champion City, a cluttered metropolis that makes Gotham look like dullest suburbia. It's a place populated by heinous, eccentric super villains, one legitimate superhero and a bunch of misfits who fancy themselves costumed crimefighters. When theatrical arch menace Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Wright proved to me that he could top Barbosa, no easy feat in my books) is booted from prison, he launches into his old ways, ransacking the city and bringing hero Captain Fantastic (Greg Kinnear), to his knees. It's now up to a hilarious group of lovable buffoons to bring him and his minions down. You better sit down before I describe these guys, cuz they're too good to be true. Ben Stiller is Mr. Furious, a dude who believes he can get so angry he has super strength... except..not. William H. Macy plays The Shoveler, who pretty much shovels. Janeane Garofalo is The Bowler, who carries a ball with the essence of her superhero dad trapped inside. Kel Mitchell is the Invisible Boy, who is only invisible when nobody is looking. My favourite by far is The Blue Raja (a scene stealing Hank Azaria), a turban wearing, plummy British accent spouting dude whose weapons of choice are forks, which he flings about the place like ninja stars. I could go on and on about every little quirk and stroke of genius, but I'd rather let you discover it all yourself, and immerse yourself in the giddy treasure chest that is this film. I must make mention of Tom Waits as a scientist who designs elaborate and "non lethal" weapons. Man, this movie rocks. Additional flair is provided by Lena Olin, Ned Bellamy, Claire Forlani, Paul Reubens, Wes Studi (whose character cuts guns in half with his mind and blurts out endless paradoxical platitudes) and Eddie Izzard. There's a few hidden moments of emotion that take you off guard like easter eggs amongst the lunacy, for all you folks who want a side of seriousness with your buffoon burger. This isn't everyone's thing, but check 'er out anyways, just to make sure. It's one of my favourites.

'Mystery Men' is a half-hearted comedy featuring a lot of good actors put through the motions of a bloated special effects light show. The best dialogue in the movie comes from the personalities of the actors themselves. This is the kind of movie that is best to watch on video with your remote in hand to fast-forward through the boring parts.The story: Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), the hero of Champion City has cleaned up the city of crime and his sponsers are getting restless for something new. He comes up with the idea of paroling his nemesis Dr. Casanova Frankenstein (that it NOT a typo) so that the doctor can cause some crime, the Captain can save the day and have his rep restored.The problem is that Frankenstein kidnaps the Captain. So it's up a band of second rate superheroes to spring into action. They include: Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) who 'gets Pompeii' when there is trouble; The blue raja (Hank Azaria) who hurls forks and spoon (His partners helpfully suggest that he try wearing blue instead lime green) and The Shoveler (William H. Macy) who fights with garden tools.When they see their opportunity to make a name for themselves they assign new team members which include: The Bowler (Janaene Garofalo) who hurls mean bowling ball which contains her late father's skull, Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) who can only turn invisible when no one is looking and The Spleen (Paul Reuben) who . . . um . . . well . . . vents it. My favorite though is The Sphinx (Wes Studi) a Zen Yoda-like trainer who dispenses hilarious saying like 'You must be a wolf pack, not a six pack' and 'You must lash out with every limb like an octopus who plays the drums' There are long stretches of dead screen time with no laughs. The fight scenes have a lot of energy dispensed with little payoff. The major scenes involving the special effects don't work.I wish that the movie had kept it simple. There are a lot of small moments in this movie that are brilliant. I especially liked Macy's line 'We've got a date with destiny and it looks like she's ordered the lobster'. I loved an early recruitment scene, which includes characters like The Waffler (who fights with waffle irons) and The PMS Avenger (who only works once a month).A curious thing happens when people talk about a movie like 'Mystery Men'. They will tell you what was wrong with it but then quickly tell you about a scene that works. This is the kind of middle-of-the-row comedy that people defend but do not endorse.

I'll tell you what the mystery is as far as I am concerned: how a cool, extremely witty, and thoroughly entertaining movie like this one can fail at the box-office when far less worthy films not only make massive profits, but go on to spawn umpteen often inferior sequels. It does little to build my faith in humanity.For me, Mystery Men is two hours of sheer joy, with some incredibly funny lines of dialogue, excellent special effects, imagination to spare, and wonderful characters brought to life by a superb cast, my favourite performances of the whole film being from Wes Studi as The Sphinx, who continually spouts hilarious pearls of wisdom, and Geoffrey Rush as delightfully devious villain Casanova Frankenstein.Oh well, if the general public can't appreciate such a creative, quirky and innovative gem, it's their loss; I guess it'll be up to the select few with far superior taste to keep the flame alive...