This film is a textbook case of "biting off more than you can chew." Which sucks because with a couple million bucks, it could've been something impressive.
The premise is actually promising: mythological-powered heroes sharing the spotlight with action heroes in a comic book universe as they save the world from supernatural threats. There are actually some clever and well-written lines and zingers in the script, and these are the lines usually best delivered. It also manages to not take itself too seriously, which makes it easier to digest. I'd argue that it's a direct descendant of "Adventure of Buckaroo Banzai" which makes it's failure all the more painful.
Unfortunately, the movie tries to do too much with too little. While half the cast is composed of well-known and very talented actors, the other half is composed of stunt men and friends of the director's, and it shows. The budget is woefully small for subject matter of this magnitude, and while there's some spirited camera-work and clever production schemes to compensate, it doesn't quite pull off.
The biggest problem is that the director didn't have what he needed to light it properly. Considering that the budget was likely under $800,000 it could have been anything: not enough lights, not enough money to get additional shooting days, or not enough money to keep the talent on longer than needed, etc. but the limits of the budget really show. The setups are nowhere near as dynamic as they need to be, the lighting is stark and practical, and the set design virtually nonexistent. The setups reminded me of a lot of mid-budget HD porn movies where they shoot the action head-on and in two shots to keep the borders of the set (and the warehouse beyond) out of frame.
The cast is staggeringly impressive; there's some real talent here, and Sizemore, Busey and Jones tend to have the best delivery of some truly underwhelming lines, but even their contributions can't distract from the fact that the film was so rushed that they didn't have time to learn their lines as well as they should. In the commentary, the director admits that Sizemore often had to learn his lines minutes before they shot a scene, so this probably happened more often than not. More than anything, it looks like Hollywood actors doing a favor for a film student and his buddies.
Visually, it looks like a cross between "Repo: The Genetic Opera," "The Batman XXX" parody, and the "Angel of Death" web series with Zoe Bell.
Still, the fact that the director managed to get the film made with the cast he did for the money he had and in LOS ANGELES (at God knows WHAT rates) is nevertheless impressive, and I have to respect him for that. Because the budget was so low, it's hard to tell how much of the film's failure is due to ineptitude or finance, so I'm not going to write off the filmmakers just yet. With more money and a larger crew, he might actually have done this (or the sequel) right.
It falls short of the "Buckaroo Banzai" level it wants to be, but its a digital age cult curio nonetheless. Perhaps not one of the best, but no less worthy of consideration.
