The Return of Captain Invincible (1983)

This is a movie I've been looking for for over a year now but it's impossible to find almost anywhere. Thankfully I got my chance just recently. Reading some of the reviews I was worried that it wouldn't appeal to me at all, but when I finally got around to watching it I thought it was pretty good. The plot centers around a washed up superhero from World War II times named Captain Invincible. In the peak of his career he's accused of being a communist by the American govt. and disappears off the face of the Earth. Unbeknownst to him he flies all the way to Australia where he spends a good thirty years drinking away his sorrows. But when a hypno- ray is stolen from the Australian govt. and the President of the U.S.A. is called in he suggests they call upon Captain Invincible. Eventually a policewoman named Patty finds him and convinces him to put on the cape, clean up his act, and save the world. So basically think something along the lines of Watchmen and Hitchcock but a lot less serious.The source of the trouble is the Captain's old enemy Mr. Midnight. And he's got something big planned for the minorities of the world. The plot isn't much but it's not trying to be groundbreaking so it's not too cheesy. The film takes a more satirical look on the Superhero genre and is kind of ahead of its time. It was released two or three years before Watchmen and long before The Incredibles. If it were released today it might have been a success. But I can see why people aren't that big on the film. The pacing is a little slow and the plot sort of resolves itself without any real conflict and there are a few stereotypical jokes in there but nothing outright racist or hateful.But the jokes that work really do work. Granted the movie never reached 'laugh out loud, fall out of my chair hilarious' status but I was chuckling for a good eighty percent of the film. Two scenes that stand out are a scene where the Cap and Patty go investigate a Vacuum shop. No joke, the vacuums come alive and start trying to kill them. It's hilarious seeing them fight the things and even the obvious "this sucks" joke is pulled off pretty well. Another is when they're at the Deli and the patron literally takes a fish and starts shooting bullets out of it. The following duel is glorious to behold. Unusual for the genre this movie is one of the only Superhero-Musical films. And the songs are pretty good. While some of them are too short to be really memorable they're all pretty catchy and have a nice tune to them. The best is probably a song sung by the main villain titled "Name Your Poison." Really... that song is what made me watch this movie. It is that epic. Alcohol jokes and visual gags galore in this spectacle of a number. Really if nothing else watch the movie for that one scene.The two main actors, Alan Arkin and Sir Christopher Lee each give a respectable performance as Captain Invincible and Mr. Midnight respectively. They're both very talented singers and each bring charm into the movie. To me Christopher Lee is epic in whatever he does but his performance in this movie is reminiscent to a James Bond villain (and he did play one actually). Alan Arkin also does a good job portraying a guy at the end of his rope trying hard to believe in old fashioned American values. And the supporting cast are all pretty good too.Overall this film won't please everyone. If you're into tongue-in-cheek movies then this film will probably appeal to you but if not you should probably skip it. But after searching for it for a good year and more I can honestly say it wasn't a disappointment for me. It's not the best film ever made but its catchy songs, cheesy gags and Christopher Lee will keep me watching again for a good while.

The strangest movie I've seen since "Popeye" - part action movie, part fantasy, part comedy and part musical, this movie stars Alan Arkin as a onetime Captain America-type superhero who fell into obscurity after being accused of being a Commie by a McCarthy-like politician. Now years later, a group of scientists, government officials and military types are trying to sober him up and bring him back to superhero trim so he may save the human race from a new peril.That's the plot in a nutshell, but it's really the songs which make the movie. The President of the USA, annoyed at the bovine excreta being shoveled his way by his advisers, suddenly screams "B______t!", and turns the expletive into a snappy toe tapping tune. If you look carefully, you can see the actor playing the President trying to keep a straight face (and not quite succeeding).This isn't a consistently good or entertaining movie, but the parts that are good and entertaining are well worth the $10 DVD price.

I just saw the film for the first time tonight, so these are some brief impressions. This virtually unknown little movie is a weird, goofy, silly, and touchingly sincere experience. The very premise of the film is fascinating, and though we've seen the "old-time hero in the modern world" premise before and since, this is one effort that really delves into the potential of that idea. The script keeps dropping in bits of social satire and commentary; the evil villain's plot is essentially the inverse of "white flight", seeking to "purify" New York by luring all the minorities to the suburbs and then killing them. The implication that he's also the supreme evil force in the universe adds a neat mythic touch. The Captain's quest to re- capture the spirit of America that inspired him to begin with is rather sweet, and Kate Fitzpatrick is charming as the spunky heroine. (Arkin and Lee are great, but aren't they always.) The songs are generally fun, even when predictable- despite being written by a number of different people (including Richard O' Brien!) they've got a nice consistency. It's a flawed film in many ways- the humor is uneven, ranging from the clever to the silly (often at the same time- though "Amazing Computer Brain is Stuck!" got a laugh from me.) The finale is so abbreviated that I'm convinced there were scenes that were either cut or never filmed. And, this isn't really a criticism, but I do wonder why Australians were making a movie about the American spirit. Still, this movie doesn't deserve the sheer obscurity it seems to suffer. It's undoubtedly a unique film, and as such provides a truly fascinating experience.

The US government's latest secret weapon is stolen, and the only man who can find it is an alcoholic ex-superhero. Captain Invincible returned to obscurity in his native Australia after a nasty run in with HUAC...Captain Invincible is a hilarious, rock-opera parody of DC/Marvel superhero comics. To give away too much of the ridiculously ramshackle plot would be to spoil it, but you suspect this film was inspired by Christopher Lee's lament that he never starred in a musical comedy.Lee steals the film as the dastardly arch-villain Mr. Midnight, belting out his numbers in a fine bass-baritone, as scantily clad slave girls massage his jodhpured thighs. Unforgettable.