By Robert Scucci
| Printed 11 seconds in the past
The very best superhero film occurred years earlier than Marvel and DC took over our cinemas, and it’s referred to as Thriller Males; a movie that was at all times destined to be a cult basic. By no means afraid to lean into its personal absurdity, Thriller Males makes use of its A-list ensemble forged and B-movie attraction to deliver audiences the last word underdog story about vigilantes with questionable skills attempting to safe their place as heroes of the best order. Removed from a business success upon its 1999 launch, Thriller Males holds up in 2025 as a result of it doesn’t take itself severely in any respect, and after a long time of superhero motion pictures that really feel just a bit too self-important, it’s a refreshing strategy to cleanse the palate.
A Ragtag Group Of Pathetic Losers
Thriller Males first introduces its three wannabe superheroes, the rage-filled Mr. Livid (Ben Stiller), the fork-throwing Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), and the Shoveler (William H. Macy), who … fights crime with a shovel. Wildly unsuccessful of their pursuit of justice, our three heroes are continuously upstaged by the ever-arrogant Captain Superb (Greg Kinnear); the beacon of hope that Champion Metropolis wants after years of being overridden by crime.
Realizing that the streets at the moment are so clear that he not has any crime to struggle, ensuing within the lack of company sponsors, Captain Superb decides that it’s in his finest curiosity to launch his arch-nemesis, Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush), from captivity so he can proceed to remain related. Captain Superb’s plan instantly backfires when Casanova captures him, blows up the asylum, and divulges his plans to destroy Champion Metropolis together with his Psycho-frakulator gadget.
Assembling A New Crew
With Captain Superb now out of the image, our trio of heroes in Thriller Males resolve to take issues into their very own arms and recruit new members for his or her crew to allow them to collectively take down Casanova Frankenstein. After a sequence of auditions, they decide on Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), who can solely flip invisible when no person’s watching, Spleen (Paul Reubens), a person whose bowel-quaking flatulence can clear complete rooms, The Sphinx (Wes Studi), who can minimize weapons in half together with his thoughts, and The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), whose bowling ball containing the pinnacle of her useless father is her secret weapon.
Oh yeah, and once they notice they want a brand new arsenal of non-lethal weapons to take down Casanova, they seek the advice of Doc Heller (Tom Waits) to coach them with the instruments they should rescue Captain Superb and save the day.
Destined To Be A Cult Movie
Sporting its inherent stupidity on its sleeve, Thriller Males pulls no stops in assaulting the viewer with its fast-paced, shovel-slinging, fork-chucking, flatulence-induced motion sequences which are equal elements ridiculous and surprisingly nicely choreographed. As tensions rise among the many yet-to-be named Thriller Males, we study a little bit bit about civic accountability, friendship, and teamwork alongside the way in which. However will their efforts be for naught within the face of the best villain they’ve ever encountered?
Because of its campy, B-movie attraction, you’ll haven’t any qualms about sitting via Thriller Males to see if our heroes are profitable in saving the day whereas admiring how absurd this film really is. There’s no ironic indignation in Thriller Males, which retains it from sporting out its welcome because it blazes via its second and third acts. Actually, the explanation this film lands so nicely with a long time of superhero film hindsight is as a result of it’s not poking enjoyable on the yet-to-exist MCU or DCEU.
In different phrases, watching Thriller Males in 2025 is a deal with as a result of it’s not railing on superhero motion pictures, however fairly attempting to do its personal factor as a result of it was utterly unaware of the superhero fatigue all of us discover ourselves experiencing 26 years after its launch.
For that motive alone, Thriller Males is price a watch, and you may stream it free of charge on Tubi.
