Alter Egos

This movie was so good to me, that a whole hour and 17 minutes (the duration of the film) for some reason felt like it was only 20 minutes. The world that they construct is so intriguing, and the reality is one that you want to delve further into. Although the film just focuses on a few superhero's and their stories, I just wanted them to keep developing and spin-off to tell the stories of others. Great movie: the sequencing of everything made sense and wrapped it up perfectly - but gosh darn it do I wish there was more!

It's a lot like Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, only set in the northeast, with down-and-out superheroes and less than super powers. Not-so-superhero Fridge clings to his super identity even though the world has moved beyond him and his ilk. He and fellow traveler C-Thru are temporarily holed-up at a Hampton Bays inn, tasked with nothing less than reviving the fortunes of the underfunded SuperCorp superheroes collective. But Fridge is more concerned with his relationship problems and the charming desk clerk. The whole thing is winningly underplayed and sincere. It could almost work as a modest stage comedy.

I have only one wish regarding this movie. In my opinion, I would have liked a bigger budget for the costumes. But, that is not to say that this movie was anything other than flawless just the way it was. A little humor, a good story and an excellent cast for an intimate tale of identity loss and reclamation. Love lost and found, jealousy, and redemption. In the end, whomever was responsible for this will undoubtedly have a future in film making. Bravo ! Or, as a no longer fat man in an overcoat might say,

Alter Egos comes at you with the full understanding that you are a comic shop/scifi type person from the very start. For the niche who this film was presumably made for, it has everything and the kitchen sink. However, for others who aren't in the same social spaces most of the movie may fall flat or seem tedious or just out-right silly.

The actors/staff/crew did amazing jobs considering the very low budget of this film.

TLDR; In-joke movie only appeals to very specific fans.

... and of course everything is left open-ended so perhaps we shall receive a sequel!

This is a superheroes movie that is a independent film so of course it's not going to have a large budget. And I think that is where most of the negative reviews for this movie is coming in. Because there isn't enough superheroes action with superpowers. But that isn't the intention and direction for this movie. Usually superhero movies that have superpowers cost a lot of money to make. That is why quite a bit of independent superhero or superheroes movie has vigilantes with no powers. In this case superheroes does have powers but they just don't have the support of the people or financial backup from the government anymore. If your looking for a superhero movie with a lot of action and fighting with superpowers you might be disappointed. What this movie does off is cleverly integrated story about superheroes and their relationships and what happens behind the scenes. There is quite a bit of effort that has been put into this movie and it just didn't seem like the makers make this movie just for the sake of making a movie. But carefully planned and put it all together with the limited resources they had. The actors and actress are not well known or anything but they put on fine performances and matched the tone of this movie. One of the actors really reminded me of Robert Downey, Jr. This is a low budget superheroes movie that doesn't have a lot of action but has a creative premise and certain charm to it.

7/10