The Specials
Publisher: Lalaland Entertainment
Director: Craig Mazin
Writer: James Gunn
Cover: Paul Shipper
There’s always a lot of talk about an over-saturation of superhero movies since Iron Man came onto the scene but there’s always been these movies for decades. During the turn of the century, weird to say that but it’s true, there were several comedy hero films and The Specials was one of them. It’s been twenty years since the movie came out and it now has a Blu-ray with a surprising amount of features.
The Specials Blu-ray first reminds me how many movies come out now with out having commentaries. The Specials comes with two, granted, they are two from older releases, it’s still nice to see them at all when most re-releases throw away older commentaries. It also makes sense that this twentieth anniversary edition didn’t get a new one, though it would have been very much welcomed, because the movie’s cast and crew are all massive stars now.
This was a movie I remember seeing several times in the early 2000s and while it’s nothing spectacular, it’s got a quaintness to it that isn’t something we get in superhero films anymore. This was often used as a point to criticize the film, it has no action scenes, even the most comedic of the modern superhero era has action scenes. It was intended to just be a small story about the sixth or seventh most popular hero team, they just don’t make them like this anymore.
The film is a simple story of The Specials, a team on the day of their toy line getting revealed and having a documentary crew following them around. The team is dysfunctional and just doing what they can to be better but they often are their own worst enemies. Their leader, The Strobe, has a massive ego. Ms. Indestructible is married to The Strobe and they are struggling as a couple. The team’s shining star, The Weevil, wants to move on from being a big fish in a small pond. New member, Nightbird, is also here for her very first day with the team she grew up watching on the news. Other members are dealing with their own issues, like Minute Man, who can shrink and so people often mispronounce his hero name.
To bring back those commentaries, that’s where the movie really shines, you get to have one with the director, Craig Mazin, producer, Mark A. Altman, Visual Effects Supervisor, Mojo, and writer/actor, James Gunn, who plays Minute Man, from the original 2000 release of the film on DVD. There is also a audio commentary from 2005 with James Gunn and actor, Paget Brewster who played Ms. Indestructible. It’s interesting getting to hear during the two commentaries discussions pop up that turn into superhero arguments of the film’s characters powers. It’s also cute to hear Gunn explain how he’s a really big comics fan knowing what we know now.
If you’re a fan of oddball superhero films, this is definitely worth a look at what things were like back in 2000. If you like any of these actors, it can definitely be a trip to see them here in a smaller film that would now cost a fortune just to get everyone here involved again, a sequel would be a massive budget or a passion project of all involved. If neither of those appeal to you, then this might be a pass for you on purchase but it is definitely a blast from the past if you’re on the fence. The Blu-ray is out now.
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
