[dropcap size=small]S[/dropcap]ince the days of Tim Burton’s Batman, Superhero movies have become a serious business. Superheroes have always been the stuff of our imagination; an inverted reflection of how powerless we find ourselves against the struggles of our lives. We all sometimes want to just smash our way through our troubles. So, we imagine people who can fly, who can crush, who can run faster, who don’t have to give up and who are immeasurably loved, although, some imaginists have built upon these myths and taken superdom to the next level. They took these fictitious beings and juxtaposed them in a cruel and unforgiving world. They made people realize that Stan Lee’s wisdom would seldom be applied if one was granted all the power they wanted; because with great power comes the possibility of even more power.
These are the films that made us realize the true nature of being a superhuman. They showed us that a person’s abilities do not go hand in hand with their judgment.
So, here are the 5 best unconventional superhero movies:
[button color=”red” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706593/”]5. Chronicle[/button]
Remember, the guy who played Harry Osborn in “The Amazing Spiderman”? Didn’t like him? Well that’s most probably because he was playing the role in a way in which he played Andrew Detmer: A troubled teen from near Chicago who ends up being the most powerful one among his friends after a freak accident turns them all into Telekinetic beings. It is a brutally honest depiction of how teenage frustration can turn a man into a monster. After a brief exhilarating period of flexing their abilities and pushing their boundaries which give the viewers some really nostalgic feels, it turns into one ugly phenomenon. This movie has the ability to change the way you thought about superpowers forever.
Note: This movie is made in a found-footage fashion, which means it is shot in such a way that it appears that the recordings are real, and not the result of deliberate shootings using professional cameras. It is similar to the way “Blair Witch Project” was shot but it is a montage of recordings from security cameras, mobile phone cameras and a couple of handheld video cams.
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[button color=”blue” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217869/”]4. Unbreakable[/button]
The master of mystery M. Night Shyamalan makes a creepy and depressing tale of a man (Bruce Willis) who has quite literally survived against all odds on various occasions; like a train crash and a car accident. It just seemed a matter of fate, until a cripple (played by Samuel L. Jackson) quite literally rolls in and destroys all conception he has about the normalcy of his existence. This is a story of a man who is struggling to keep his life from falling apart, and suddenly finds out that he is the balancing factor of a power equation that exists in this world; the other half of which is a stranger who meets him in the course of this movie. Now that I am thinking about it, a slightly twisted version of this plot exists in “Hancock”. This movie also contains underlying satire on superhero clichés with a comic crazy Elijah (Samuel L. Jackson’s character).
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[button color=”grey” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167190/”]3. Hellboy[/button]
One of the characteristic trademarks of Guilermo Del Toro is the depiction of unique and unconventional supernatural creatures; and in Hellboy, he presents us one which is the most bad-ass of them all. As the name suggests, “Hellboy” is an adaptation of the comic character created by Mike Mignola. Hellboy (or Anung un Rama) is essentially a demon who has fallen in with the good guys; working in the shadows to keep a check on the evil forces trying to break into our dimension. Hellboy is unique in the sense that it completely defies the fallen angel persona. He isn’t cribbing all the time about his dark origins or his inability to adjust in our world, but he faces these problems all the same. He is awfully nice for a demon; cracking morbid jokes and persistently flirtatious. Along with other paranormal beings; Hellboy sets the standards for “immortal” love.
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[button color=”green” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/”]2. Kick-Ass[/button]
This is an out-and-out funny satire on masked vigilantes elevated to the level of superheroes. This story is about Dave Lizewski, a high school teenager who out of boredom and curiosity becomes Kick-Ass, a self-proclaimed guardian of justice. What he soon realizes is that there are others like him who try to take their business rather seriously. What ensues is a crazy chase between the police, the mafia and the real heroes. It is quite funny until the climax sequence, where suddenly the dangers become all too real. For some people it might be a little too crazy and overkill; it is quite a fresh take on masked vigilantism and comic fantasia. It is not one to be taken too seriously but it’s definitely a crazy ride.
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[button color=”white” size=”big” alignment=”center” rel=”follow” openin=”newwindow” url=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/”]1. Watchmen[/button]
This is most probably the most realistic take on superheroes till date. “Watchmen” is a movie based on Alan Moore’s 1987 graphic novel about a bunch of ex-superheroes and their struggles as normal people. The story is set in an alternative universe, where superheroes have existed and helped the world; but now are forced either into retirement or government service (which most of the times involve being a mascot). All seemed depressingly normal until the death of one of the ex-superheroes forces Rorschach, a masked vigilante who is still active as an outlaw, to visit his past and uncover the most disturbing truth about knowledge and ambition. Watchmen as a team are fairly unique as only one person, dubbed Dr. Manhattan, has supernatural abilities. Watchmen explores the darkest recesses of human mind, much like Alan Moore’s other works (for example “V for Vendetta”) and at the same time provides us with an unsettling worldview. For those who are sick of Marvel’s Avengers, “Watchmen” is quite a satisfying relief.
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[alert type=red ]All the above movies have been ranked according to popular opinion and a little judgement from my side. If you think I have missed a blatantly obvious one, please comment.[/alert]
This is all for now; keep checking gawkinggeeks.com for some more unconventional Top 5s.