By Robert Scucci
| Published
The best superhero movie happened years before Marvel and DC took over our cinemas, and it’s called Mystery Men; a film that was always destined to be a cult classic. Never afraid to lean into its own absurdity, Mystery Men uses its A-list ensemble cast and B-movie charm to bring audiences the ultimate underdog story about vigilantes with questionable abilities trying to secure their place as heroes of the highest order. Far from a commercial success upon its 1999 release, Mystery Men holds up in 2025 because it doesn’t take itself seriously at all, and after decades of superhero movies that feel just a little too self-important, it’s a refreshing way to cleanse the palate.
A Ragtag Group Of Pathetic Losers
Mystery Men first introduces its three wannabe superheroes, the rage-filled Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), the fork-throwing Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), and the Shoveler (William H. Macy), who … fights crime with a shovel. Wildly unsuccessful in their pursuit of justice, our three heroes are constantly upstaged by the ever-arrogant Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear); the beacon of hope that Champion City needs after years of being overridden by crime.
Realizing that the streets are now so clean that he no longer has any crime to fight, resulting in the loss of corporate sponsors, Captain Amazing decides that it’s in his best interest to release his arch-nemesis, Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush), from captivity so he can continue to stay relevant. Captain Amazing’s plan immediately backfires when Casanova captures him, blows up the asylum, and reveals his plans to destroy Champion City with his Psycho-frakulator device.
Assembling A New Crew
With Captain Amazing now out of the picture, our trio of heroes in Mystery Men decide to take matters into their own hands and recruit new members for their crew so they can collectively take down Casanova Frankenstein. After a series of auditions, they settle on Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), who can only turn invisible when nobody’s watching, Spleen (Paul Reubens), a man whose bowel-quaking flatulence can clear entire rooms, The Sphinx (Wes Studi), who can cut weapons in half with his mind, and The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), whose bowling ball containing the head of her dead father is her secret weapon.
Oh yeah, and when they realize they need a new arsenal of non-lethal weapons to take down Casanova, they consult Doc Heller (Tom Waits) to train them with the tools they need to rescue Captain Amazing and save the day.
Destined To Be A Cult Film
Wearing its inherent stupidity on its sleeve, Mystery Men pulls no stops in assaulting the viewer with its fast-paced, shovel-slinging, fork-chucking, flatulence-induced action sequences that are equal parts ridiculous and surprisingly well choreographed. As tensions rise among the yet-to-be named Mystery Men, we learn a little bit about civic responsibility, friendship, and teamwork along the way. But will their efforts be for naught in the face of the greatest villain they’ve ever encountered?
Thanks to its campy, B-movie charm, you’ll have no qualms about sitting through Mystery Men to see if our heroes are successful in saving the day while admiring how absurd this movie actually is. There’s no ironic indignation in Mystery Men, which keeps it from wearing out its welcome as it blazes through its second and third acts. In fact, the reason this movie lands so well with decades of superhero movie hindsight is because it’s not poking fun at the yet-to-exist MCU or DCEU.
In other words, watching Mystery Men in 2025 is a treat because it’s not railing on superhero movies, but rather trying to do its own thing because it was completely unaware of the superhero fatigue we all find ourselves experiencing 26 years after its release.
For that reason alone, Mystery Men is worth a watch, and you can stream it for free on Tubi.
