this was a childhood favorite of mine, and i was hesitant to revisit it because i was truly worried i'd hate it now. i was impressed with the visuals, the cityscapes and the sets, which immediately invite comparison to the joel schumacher batman films. i found out afterward that the movie actually reused some sets from batman forever. honestly, i love that about this movie. the aesthetics and the concept are delightful. a superhero comedy romp set in the neon-gothic stylings of joel schumacher's gotham city? shut up and take my money. the movie makes good on its potential in fits and starts, but never with enough energy to become an irresistible good time- like the mask. the 90's jim carrey vehicle was able to gloss over its few shortcomings because- like its star, it was genuinely funny, endlessly energetic and had a singular comedic voice behind it. mystery men is an ensemble piece however and had to endure the wholly disparate comedic voices of... ben stiller, greg kinnear, william h. macy, jeanne garofalo, paul ruebens, hank azaria and geoffrey fucking rush. as impressive as that cast is, it came with its price to pay apparently as there were frequent arguments over the comedic tone of the movie. the end result is as crazy and slapdash as the characters in the movie itself. having said that, i still love it. it's aggressively unique and bizarre, but most of all- it's very imaginative and low maintenance. there's no legion of rabid fans insisting that it's not faithful to the comics- because even now, the comic mystery men is based on is relatively obscure. there's no extended universe, no sequel or prequel. it's one silly movie, and it operates in its own world of zany supervillains and ridiculous underdog vigilantes. mystery men is an underdog movie in both the literal sense and in the sense that it's a bit rough around the edges. you gotta be a bit more sympathetic to it, a little less judgmental- and in the end, it comes through. i've never failed to have a good time with this movie even if it is 30 minutes too long and i no longer laugh at the fart jokes. but hey... at least my brothers do now.