It's funny how, given the success of Deadpool, people are so hyped about R-rated comic-book movies. I mean, they've been around for a while. We had three R-rated Punisher movies, Kick Ass and the Blade franchise, not to mention comic-book style flicks like Robocop and Darkman which were, you guessed it, rated R. And yes, The Punisher and Blade are Marvel properties, just like Deadpool.
Back in the early 2000s, before Marvel and its cinematic universe were all the rage, director Brett Leonard and the producers behind the current onslaught of Marvel flicks made a movie based on a third-tier character named Man-Thing . . . and it never saw the light of day. Well, it eventually debuted on SyFy, but you get my drift.
Yours truly was able to track down a copy and give it a watch. So, what do I think? Stick with me!
Man-Thing isn't great cinema, but it's not an out-and-out disaster either. In truth, it's the kind of flick SyFy would produce, only one of the better ones. Take from that what you will. Marvel was still finding its cinematic footprint, but at least they tried something different with Man-Thing.
Man-Thing is essentially a horror movie. Man-Thing isn't a super hero, he's a monster. And he does what monsters do, which is kill people, in this case a bunch of evil polluters and anyone else who dares degrade his little corner of a swamp. Cue the sheriff and a hot, blonde school teacher (Rachael Taylor, who went on to co-star in Marvel's Jessica Jones) who set out to stop him, and the evil polluters.
Like any good B-grade horror movie, we get blood, guts, sex, boobies within the first five minutes, and some OK special effects. In the best tradition of monster flicks, we don't get to see much of Man-Thing until the end. When we do, he's largely a practical creation, and a good one at that.
Is the movie scary? No. But it isn't boring either. It's a decent enough B-movie, and a fine way to kill a Saturday night after a few hours at the pub.
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