I remember watching the trailer for Mirageman two years ago. It seemed like a fresh idea at the time. A martial arts enthusiast becomes a superhero who fights crime using only his fists. Fast-forward two years later, the novelty has worn off a little, but it’s still a passable poor man’s Batman (literally). No superpowers, no high-tech armor, no infinite wealth, not even sharp detective skills. Just a guy, a home-stitched mask, and a will.
Mirageman’s secret identity is Maco (Marko Zaror), a meek-but-deadly guy who lives in a small apartment and works as a nightclub bouncer. As Mirageman, he does pretty good handling mostly small fishes. He’s not all that smart, see. He just knows how to win a fight. Maco has a brother, who was left a mental patient when their parents’ killers raped him. Here’s where Mirageman shows off a pretty interesting motivation for superheroism: what he wants to accomplish most is to make his brother normal again… by beating up purse-snatchers and cocky rappers (no, seriously) so little bro can have a role model to look up to.
In a more ambitious film, this could be a very interesting story about the selfish side of vigilantism—Batman Begins touched on it, but not quite fully—though writer/director Ernesto Diaz Espinoza prefers to keep it pulpy. And pulpy it is. The score is 70’s funk—Mirageman’s theme song sounds suspiciously similar to Truck Turner’s—and there are some hilariously pointless montages of Mirageman running on rooftops striking poses in broad daylight. Why? ‘Cause he’s a goddamn superhero, that’s why.
The best moments are the ones with deadpan humor, which comes across much more honestly than the rest of the film. One afternoon, during a fight, Mirageman’s duffel bag is stolen and he has to hitch a ride home with a garbage truck, but not before helping them collect trash. All this in costume and in full view of everybody. It’s a sad but funny sight, to see a hero without a Batmobile or even cab fare. Then there’s Pseudo-Robin, a dorky Mirageman fanboy who’s inspired to fight crime himself, even though he lacks Mirageman’s skills and always loses his fights. A reporter asks him why he would do this, when it’s obvious that he’s not accomplishing anything, and Pseudo-Robin doesn’t even understand the question. “How can you say that? I’m trying to save this guy’s car stereo.” For the little people, little things matter.
Made in Chile, Mirageman is rough around the edges, and sometimes not in a good way. The plot, as expected, is pretty stupid. It involves a pedophile ring, thrust upon Mirageman by a totally random Commissioner Gordon analogue; and also reporter Carol V (Maria Elena Swett), an awful attention whore version of Lois Lane.
The obvious goal is to make an action-packed superhero movie on the cheap. Action wise, it’s just a kung fu movie with a costume, really. Mirageman uses the 70's chop-sockey style. No wires, set-piece acrobatics, no big stunts, no fancy editing—just full-contact fights in wide shots. The problem with that is, when you’re presenting a kung fu movie, and the fights are between martial artists, it makes sense for them to fight like they’re sparring. It’s a mutual respect thing. But when the context is that of a superhero against criminals, it’s a little silly for them to trade kicks and then graciously wait for a fallen opponent to get up first before continuing again. Mirageman is choreographed ably and Marko Zaror pulls off some very impressive moves; but this is an action movie, and there needs to be more tension in action scenes than just a series of cool moves.
DVD Bonus Features
The only extra aside from trailers of Magnolia’s other home video releases is “Behind the Scenes with Mirageman,” which looks more like the trailer for the behind-the-scenes featurette. It’s bursts of film set footage cut into a short montage. The coolest things shown end up in the actual movie, so it’s pretty much a worthless extra.
"Mirageman" is on sale October 6, 2009 and is rated R. Action, Martial-Arts. Written and directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza. Starring Ariel Mateluna, Iván Jara, María Elena Swett, Marko Zaror, Mauricio Pesutic.
