By Robert Scucci
| Revealed
The very best superhero film occurred years earlier than Marvel and DC took over our cinemas, and it’s known as Thriller Males; a movie that was all the time destined to be a cult traditional. By no means afraid to lean into its personal absurdity, Thriller Males makes use of its A-list ensemble solid and B-movie appeal to deliver audiences the last word underdog story about vigilantes with questionable skills attempting to safe their place as heroes of the very 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 critically in any respect, and after many years of superhero motion pictures that really feel just a bit too self-important, it’s a refreshing method 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 continually upstaged by the ever-arrogant Captain Wonderful (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 now not has any crime to struggle, ensuing within the lack of company sponsors, Captain Wonderful 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 Wonderful’s plan instantly backfires when Casanova captures him, blows up the asylum, and divulges his plans to destroy Champion Metropolis along with his Psycho-frakulator gadget.
Assembling A New Crew
With Captain Wonderful 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 collection of auditions, they decide on Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), who can solely flip invisible when no one’s watching, Spleen (Paul Reubens), a person whose bowel-quaking flatulence can clear whole rooms, The Sphinx (Wes Studi), who can lower weapons in half along with his thoughts, and The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), whose bowling ball containing the top of her useless father is her secret weapon.
Oh yeah, and once they understand 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 Wonderful and save the day.
Destined To Be A Cult Movie
Carrying 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 can be 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 duty, 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?
Due to its campy, B-movie appeal, you’ll don’t have 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. The truth is, the explanation this film lands so nicely with many years 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 reasonably 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 purpose alone, Thriller Males is value a watch, and you’ll stream it without spending a dime on Tubi.
