Blade: Mostly inasmuch as it made fun of all of them.

Epsilon: Especially when it used the ecchi "shrink clothes gun" on the Spice Girl wannabes.

Blade: I think that's just you. Besides, I note they used the "show scene in triplicate" anime cliche there. Although I don't think anime was quite what was on their minds when they were doing that.

Epsilon: An otaku admitting that anime did not influence a movie?

Blade: (snort) Please. I'm not one of those deluded twits with no clue about the real status of anime in North America (clue for the clueless: generally unknown, except for people who know it as "sex and violence in cartoons").

Epsilon: Yes, we use THIS forum as a soapbox, too. Another of the benefits of having a website.

Blade: Speaking of sex and violence...

Epsilon: Ah, yes, back to the review. I'd have to say my favourite part of the movie was the commercial endorsements Captain Amazing had.

Blade: Oh, I don't know. I kinda liked the completely gratuitous special effects they used all over the beginning of the movie.

Epsilon: Or the "tornado in a can"?

Blade: Which never made an appearence later? Yeah.

Epsilon: At least we know that this was made with a bigger budget than the Blair Witch Project.

Blade: And was almost as funny, too!

Epsilon: Though it did tend to try to drag itself on at several points with potty humour, mostly related to "The Spleen", or anyone who touched him, or was in any way related to him...

Blade: And you can't forget Invisible Boy's grand moment.

Epsilon: Much as I'd like to.

Blade: I would have liked to have turned around and looked during his "grand moment". Then I would've turned off the electromagnetic field, grabbed that convienent stash of guns the villains so kindly left, shot the bad guys all to hell, taken out my teammates for good measure, then walked out as the sole hero. (megalomaniacal laugh)

Epsilon: Yes, yes, Ego Lad.

Blade: And you can be my sidekick: Apathy Boy!

Epsilon: I don't care.

Blade: Of course, some might argue that wouldn't have been very heroic...but those are the people who will disappear in the dead of night, so it won't matter much.

Epsilon: A fitting successor to Captain Amazing you would make.

Blade: Naturally. BTW, have I mentioned how COOL Javert...er...Casanova Frankenstein was?

Epsilon: With his unbeatable finger-fu, you mean?

Blade: Damn straight. It makes more sense than most American comic martial arts.

Epsilon: This is probably because, while they had a high budget, they couldn't exactly get away with some of the stuff you can while drawing.

Blade: C'est vrai. Anyway, overall, Mystery Men was a pretty funny movie, with the benefit of dealing with a subject that's near and dear to our hearts...well, sort of. In any case, I found it worth watching. B.

Epsilon: I think it could have been improved by a storyline that made more sense, and it had a few plot twists that weren't properly explained; or were alluded to very briefly at the beginning and then suddenly shot up much later for no well-explained reason. Overall, great for a few chuckles, but I'd recommend a rental rather than going to the theatre. B-.

Blade: I want a sentient skull-headed bowling ball too! Epsi, it's off to the Pro Shop!

Epsilon: What are you doing, Blade?

Blade: (more megalomaniacal laughter)