disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

ARCHENEMY -- A Superhero Riff in the Form of a Generic Crime Drama

12/10/2020

0 Comments

 
Review by Sean Boelman
Picture
Filmmaker Adam Egypt Mortimer’s sophomore feature Daniel Isn’t Real put him on the genre map in a big way, so fans have been eagerly awaiting his follow-up, the gritty superhero riff Archenemy. Unfortunately there is far less going on in this movie, so despite some stylistic flair, it’s not as fun as one would hope.

The film tells the story of a washed-up man who claims to be a superhero from another dimension who has lost his powers on Earth, finding an unlikely ally in a teenage boy going through an identity crisis of his own. The idea of a “reverse Superman” — a powerful being from another world trying to save us but stripped of his abilities to do so — is promising, but Mortimer barely does anything with it.

Many superhero movies seem to be centered around the same ideas and themes, so it’s only fitting that revisionist superhero flicks would do the same. However, when a film desperately wants to be edgy like this does, and it is simply repeating things that have already been said before, it loses that feeling of authenticity.

Mortimer’s main criticism of the superhero genre seems to be the way in which characters (especially Superman, which so obviously inspired the character) are so unrelatable. What Mortimer fails to realize is that it is not the powerful superhero who is his protagonist — it is the human teenager. And in trying to make the superhero more empathetic, the movie loses track of its emotional core.
Picture
The pacing of the film is also very frustrating. Much of the first half is spent world-building, creating the mythology of these characters and setting the rules. This is intriguing, but the third act fumbles any potential that it had early on, devolving into a disappointingly generic and by-the-book crime thriller.

Joe Manganiello’s performance as the once-mighty hero is strong and one of the main reasons that the movie manages to achieve some level of success. Manganiello has the charming but gruff quality that this character demands. Amy Seimetz makes for a great supervillain, although she is disappointingly mostly underused.

Mortimer also has a very strong visual style that he uses to play with the genre. Animated comic-like sequences cement this clearly as a dark take on the tendencies of the genre. However, it is Mortimer’s use of color and the cinematography that is most creative, particularly during the fight sequences, and allows the film to be memorable. 

Archenemy has some interesting moments and shows a lot of potential, but for the most part, it never lifts off. Even if it isn’t Adam Egypt Mortimer’s strongest work, it shows that he is still a truly interesting filmmaker.

Archenemy hits theaters and VOD on December 11.

Rating: 2.5/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Dan Skip Allen
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About