Superhero Movie Smack Down – Round 3

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George Collazo – Zebraman

Superheroes have been distilled down to corporate icons – just ideas and intellectual properties that are exploited for their billion-dollar revenue streams. They have long lost their magic and individuality and in the end, it’s all about who is on this month’s collectible 7-11 cup – a concept which might be fine for some of my spoon-fed cohorts in the Unwinnable offices, but not I.

That’s why my choice is for best superhero movie is easily Zebraman.

The film was released in 2004 and directed by Takashi Miike – the very same director who brought us 13 Assassins – and he approaches the superhero genre with the same exact gusto.

Zebraman follows the story of Shinichi Ichikawa, a middle-aged third grade schoolteacher and family man whose life is in the shitter between a cheating wife, a whorish Lolita daughter, a son who’s bullied because his father’s a teacher at his school and living in a crime-ridden city. His only solace is his fan worship of a ’70s tokusatsu television show named Zebraman that was canceled after 7 episodes.

Throughout the movie, we see Shinichi slowly metamorphose into Zebraman as he fights crime and an unseen alien menace bent on world destruction.

There’s no forced love story and, in typical Takashi Miike fashion, no punches are held back. What you have is a movie that isn’t only about superheroes but about believing in your dreams.

So have fun with the new boom of slick tween beefcake superhero movies. For me, I’ve got Zebraman!

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Michael Sheridan – The Incredibles

The family that kicks ass together stays together.

The superhero genre was effectively turned on its head in the cleverly devised, wonderfully told Pixar film, The Incredibles (2004).

The mixture of out-of-this-world superpowered beings, dashed with a little legal reality and family drama, made this 2004 animated film an instant geek favorite. Smartly-written characters, sharp dialogue and stunning animation combined made this one of the best representations of superheroes on the big screen.

The story, about a family of super-powered people who struggle with their abilities and family issues to become a team of badass do-gooders, makes the characters more human than superhuman. Each of them has real problems – ones that regular folks like you or I can relate to. They aren’t like Superman or Wonder Woman or Batman, oversized crime-fighting gods who live above and beyond mere mortals. These people have real problems, everyday issues that in the real world superheroes would undoubtedly have to endure.

At the same time, The Incredibles understands the superhero genre, even while it pokes fun at it. A scene dedicated to the design of a costume is devilishly funny and spot-on in its analysis of various superhero outfits (capes really are ridiculous when you think about it).

No other superhero film has combined real human issues so wonderfully with superhuman dilemmas such as giant robots destroying a city or supervillains out to take over the world. The Incredibles pulls this off nearly flawlessly, making it a top-notch superhero flick.

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