Mirageman (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Writer:

Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (writer)

Release Date:

3 March 2008 (Chile)

Genre:

Action | Crime

Tagline:

He has no superpowers, just his fists and guts.

Plot:

The raw story of a real-life superhero. |

Plot Keywords:

Superhero | Raw Fights | Anti Hero | Violence | Hero

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Marko Zaror	...	Maco Gutierrez
María Elena Swett	...	Carol Valdivieso
Ariel Mateluna	...	Tito Gutierrez
Mauricio Pesutic	...	Juan Moli
Iván Jara	...	Pseudo-Robin
Jack Arama	...	Doctor Sartori
Eduardo Castro	...	Rony Lozano
Pablo Díaz	...	Cliente Topless
Francisco Castro	...	Villano Capoeira
Juan Pablo Miranda	...	Ladrón Casa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Arturo Ruiz Tagle	...	Jefe Red P.

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

Chile:90 min

Country:

Chile | USA

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Chile

Company:

Mandrill Films

Is it a plane? Is it a bird? No, it is reality strikes back.

This is rational and perspective review:

If created in US, this movie would be laughable, ridiculed by all, and reduced to its own special place on a shelf in your local video store. The main actor would receive invitation to be an extra in a movie directed by Dolf Lundgren, and from there he would slowly grow as an actor, until the highlight of his career will be playing a bodyguard for a villain in a movie directed by Uwe Boll.

But since it's not, since this was created in Chile and has this special exotic smell, it goes to film festivals and gets screenings at the theaters. The main actor will still receive invitation to be in a Dolf Lundgren's movie, but that is not the point.

The movie looks like an amateur action/martial arts movie, but actually has a little more to offer.

The martial arts are good, and although it's not Tony Jaa good, the important thing is that it looks and feels very real. That is a first achievement. There are some funny scenes, sort of self humor, that have this WTF? potential and will make you laugh. Like when the Mirageman jumps from height to land bad on the hard asphalt, and then he rubs his foot, like it really hurt him. This small self humor is another achievement.

The story is rubbish, of course, full with melodramatic moments and silly situations. The production value is very poor, some of the street scenes were filmed with hidden camera and the reaction of people is real.

The Mirageman is not bold thematically, and mainly uses primitive and stereotypical tearful situations to awake some emotions in the viewer and create an empathy toward the heroic protagonist. You will find just a little complexity in this movie.

But Mirageman explores some difficult issues too, like what people are capable of in order to get famous, the price of fame and what is it mean to be a hero and what are the reasons to be one.

Overall the watching experience is very decent, and it even gets some big reinforcement by the ending, which is surprisingly good. The ending puts all the movie in the correct proportions, tights properly the plot, and delivers the movie as a good and solid product. The ending is the final and the biggest achievement.