Mirageman Kicks Ass
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Mirageman Kicks Ass |
| Original title | Mirageman |
 | |
| Country of production | Chile |
| original language | Spanish |
| Publishing year | 2007 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Ernesto Díaz Espinoza |
| script | Ernesto Díaz Espinoza |
| production |
Marko Zaror , Derek Rundell |
| music | Rocco |
| camera | Nicolás Ibieta |
| cut | Ernesto Díaz Espinoza |
| occupation | |
| |
Mirageman (Original title: Mirageman ) is a Chilean martial arts film from 2007 , which deals with the question of what would happen if a normal person without super powers superhero would be. In addition to the life of a “ real life superhero ”, the action film primarily deals with sensational journalism and touches on the subject of vigilante justice .
The film by director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza premiered on July 15, 2007 at the Fantasia Film Festival in Canada and was released in Chilean cinemas in March 2008. In Germany , the low-budget film was released directly on DVD and Blu-ray under the title Mirageman Kicks Ass on August 19, 2010 , as Kick-Ass , a film with a similar motif, was released shortly before .
action
Marco Gutiérrez is a young, discreet man who keeps himself fit for his job as a bouncer in a nightclub and trains martial arts techniques daily in his simple home. His little brother Tito, whom he often visits in a mental hospital, has been traumatized since a robbery in which his parents died.
When the well-trained Marco observes a burglary on his way to work, he actively intervenes: he knocks one of the intruders to the ground, puts on his mask, then successfully fights the other robbers and can thus prevent rape. The rescued, Carol Valdivieso, a newscaster, reports on the incident on television. When his brother sees this TV report on television, his condition improves because he becomes a fan of the Avenger and wants to learn karate. Inspired by this, Marco begins to put together his own superhero costume. When he fought pickpockets with ease, he was reported on again on television. At the scene of the crime, he left his email address, which was broadcast on a television program. However, his outfit is also criticized. When he then tries to find a new outfit, a painted picture of his brother helps him.
He then received hundreds of emails with requests to him. But fans like "Pseudo-Robin" who want to be his sidekick also write to him. In the end, he decides to email a woman whose ten-year-old son was beaten up by a rapper gang. The first "mission" turns out to be the trap of a violent gang, which "Mirageman", as Marco calls himself as a superhero, has grown. Mirageman got even more attention in the press and on television. He is mainly used against pickpockets and other petty criminals. Meanwhile, Marco teaches his little brother karate. In an interview as a Mirageman with Carol Valdivieso, he says that she inspired him to become a superhero through her TV contribution. Carol Valdivieso is also becoming more and more famous thanks to Mirageman.
Marco then receives an email containing the hiding place of a network of pedophiles that is holding a girl prisoner. However, due to the poor evidence, no police intervention is possible. With detailed plans and new equipment, which Mirageman receives from the sender of the message, he dares "Mission 28: Mirageman against the network of pedophiles". However, he is not yet up to this mission. He is brutally beaten and reportedly to be thrown into the river by two members of the gang. However, one of the gang shoots the other to save Mirageman, lets him go, and then shoots himself.
After this mission, Marco gives up life as a Mirageman. His brother's health suddenly deteriorated again. Pseudo-Robin, a somewhat dumb-looking man, tries to take Mirageman's position, but has little success. He also repeatedly offers Mirageman to go on patrol with him and his two motorcycles. But only the news that Carol Valdivieso had been kidnapped and the request in the kidnap video that Mirageman should save her causes Marco to become active again as a Mirageman.
Together with pseudo-Robin, Mirageman rides a motorcycle to a fortress, where they are received by masked men. While Pseudo-Robin is quickly knocked to the ground, Mirageman manages to withstand the never-ending attacks of the fighters. When he saves Carol Valdivieso and she drives home on her motorcycle, she asks him into her house. When Marco notices a camera in her apartment, she rips the hood off his head. Marco can hide his face from the camera, just shows it to her and leaves. Once home, he learns on television that the whole kidnapping was a hoax to put on a reality show with dedicated fighters. Marco, devastated, wants to kill himself by jumping off the roof of a house. However, he is stopped by an enigmatic man, Juan Moli. Juan Moli knows Marco's secret identity and has already helped him before, he is the man who saved his life on the mission in the pedophile network. He offers Marco to work with him. Juan Moli says that he has made progress in the pedophile case and that it can now be solved with Mirageman's help.
Marco then equips himself and does not stop at weapons. In a brutal and bloody fight he opposes the gang with the use of knives, self-made smoke bombs and captured firearms. When he is finally shot at by the leader of the gang, he is able to behead him and save the girl who is being held captive. His bulletproof vest and metal bracers only help him to a limited extent during the rescue operation. When he leaves the house, he is shot at again. While fleeing, he is hit in the neck and falls into a river. The attacker shoots several times into the river, bubbles and blood rise when suddenly another shot is fired: Juan Moli shot the attacker.
A television program follows in which Carol Valdivieso reports on Mirageman's death. However, the body has not yet been found. During the television broadcast, the newscaster Mirageman tearfully apologizes for using him for her purpose. The press reported Carol Valdivieso's dismissal from her television station, her fame soon vanished, while the death of Mirageman was largely doubted by fans. While Mirageman is pathetically named a national hero by the press, pseudo-Robin asks for the return of the motorcycle on television because what had happened was long over. Marco's brother helped Mirageman's heroism overcome his trauma. While practicing karate in the garden of the sanatorium, to the delight of the doctors, he sees Mirageman on a building. In the next moment, however, this is gone.
reception
Mirageman started in Chile as number three in the box office and took in more than 390,000 US dollars there.
The critics took the film positively, including Variety and LA Weekly . The German reviews of the film are also largely positive. Blickpunkt: The film described the film as a “low-budget action adventure with a satirical touch.” The film is a “superhero adventure of the shell construction class made with a lot of love for little money in the film diaspora of Chile”, in which the balance between satirical intention, tragic outsider story and crisp brutality are right, but action fans keen to experiment could well find pleasure in the "weird pleasure". SchröderMedia said that, unlike Kick-Ass , the film tells a down-to-earth story about what a superhero would be like in our world.
The film received several awards. It won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Austin Fantastic Fest and the same for Best Chilean Film at the Valdivia International Film Festival . Also at the Chicago International Film Festival was Mirageman nominated.
The film was particularly well received at film festivals , so that an American remake , again with Marko Zaror in the lead role, with the title Defendor 3D and directed by Andie Cheng was discussed.
Web links
- Mirageman in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Mirageman's review of reviews in the Internet Movie Database
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mirageman. In: Box Office Mojo. Mirageman, 2008, accessed April 17, 2012 .
- ^ Peter Debruge: Variety Reviews - Mirageman. In: variety.com. Variety, June 26, 2008, accessed April 17, 2012 .
- ↑ LYT: Los Angeles Film Festival Guide 2008. In: laweekly.com. LA Weekly, June 26, 2008, accessed April 17, 2012 .
- ↑ Mirageman Kicks Ass. (No longer available online.) In: video.de. Spotlight: Film archived from the original on September 15, 2010 ; Retrieved April 17, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ MIRAGE MAN KICKS ASS (2007). (No longer available online.) In: evolution.ch. SchröderMedia, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved April 17, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Defender 3D. (No longer available online.) In: defender3d.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012 ; accessed on April 17, 2012 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
