Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Paul Matthews (zordmaker) I was a princely 13 when this film was made. Fortunately my first viewing was on television. The second time around I took the decency to make a VHS recording of it which still survives in digital form today. Thanks goodness I did.That's because there's actually several versions of this film out there. There's the original cinematic version, then a DVD (which is very close to the original) and then there's the TV version that I've got (which was actually created in 1982 and is very different, especially the vastly superior soundtrack).The TV version is the best - by far - and also the hardest to find.This film was made by the Sydney film making clan in it's childhood years. Take a look at the surnames in the production credits and compare these to something made in Sydney 15 years later. You'll see similar surnames and different first names everywhere. Such is the nepotism that was the Sydney film scene in that era.Much of the film was made on location at the (then only recently decommissioned) White Bay Power station. Magic moments abound in this film. Snapshots of a forgotten Sydney that range from musical interludes aboard a red rattler (complete with open doors). Production stories abound. Many from Art Dept Elex Graham Beatty who worked on this film and tells of many tales most should not hear! We can watch today and wonder how much of that liquor was real (likely 100%) and how much made it out of White Bay at the end of the production (likely less than 5%). Such was Sydney in the Eighties.More than anything, "Return of Captain Invincible" is a fantastic hoot as well as a snapshot in history. It's long been my overall favourite Aussie film - and that includes the ones I worked on.Watch it from end to end and if you need to, have some alcohol handy! ZM

crossbow0106 Who will save the world? The now drunken, down and out former superhero who used to be the saviour of the world (the first seven minutes of the film are told in clever black and white newsreels) whose powers have lost him? Finding him in Sydney, he is brought back to combat the evil Mister Midnight (Christopher Lee). A significant portion of the film has him eventually drying out and regaining his strength. The film is partially a musical in the "Rocky Horror" vein. The film is definitely not for children, it has some parts not suitable for them. A big plus is the always watchable Alan Arkin as Captain Invincible. A lesser actor would have sunk this role, but he is lots of fun and, as usual, puts in a great performance. If you think you'll like a crazy film about a washed up superhero who is wanting to save the earth, and like that it is played for laughs, then enjoy. Its a great Saturday afternoon film. Check it out.

Woodyanders Washed-up, disgraced, and disillusioned superhero Captain Invincible (an excellent and engaging performance by Alan Arkin) comes out of self-imposed retirement to prevent his evil arch nemesis Mr. Midnight (marvelously played with lip-smacking fiendish relish by Christopher Lee) from using his hypno-ray and giggle gun to racially purify New York City. Unfortunately, Captain Invincible not only has to surmount his alcoholism, but also has to relearn how to fly and regain his magnetic powers before he can get down to the business of saving the day. Director Philippe Mora, working from a witty and outrageous script by Andrew Gaty and Steven E. de Souza (the latter writer went on to pen such 80's action classics as "Commando," "The Running Man," and "Die Hard"), relates the kooky story at a constant brisk pace, maintains a blithely campy tone throughout, cheerfully pokes fun at vintage old superhero serials (the use of stock footage and moldy black and white newsreels is especially inspired and effective), and tops everything off with a genuinely eccentric, but often uproarious sense of off-the-wall humor. The wacky musical numbers are positively sidesplitting; watching Lee joyfully send up his own sinister persona by singing a couple of songs in a rich booming baritone while sexy half-nude female minions dance all around him is truly something to behold. Moreover, the enthusiastic cast have a ball with the loopy material: Arkin and Lee are both terrific in the leads, with fine support from Kate Fitzpatrick as spunky rookie police lady Patty Patricia, Michael Pate as the hearty and irascible Australian President, and Bill Hunter as the ramrod Coach. Better still, this film is done with a winning surplus of verve and affection that's impossible to either resist or dislike. Mike Molloy's polished cinematography offers a wealth of striking widescreen visuals (the sweeping aerial shots in particular are simply breathtaking). William Motzing's robust and rousing score hits the spirited spot. An absolute hoot.

Mike Sh. The strangest movie I've seen since "Popeye" - part action movie, part fantasy, part comedy and part musical, this movie stars Alan Arkin as a onetime Captain America-type superhero who fell into obscurity after being accused of being a Commie by a McCarthy-like politician. Now years later, a group of scientists, government officials and military types are trying to sober him up and bring him back to superhero trim so he may save the human race from a new peril.That's the plot in a nutshell, but it's really the songs which make the movie. The President of the USA, annoyed at the bovine excreta being shoveled his way by his advisers, suddenly screams "B______t!", and turns the expletive into a snappy toe tapping tune. If you look carefully, you can see the actor playing the President trying to keep a straight face (and not quite succeeding).This isn't a consistently good or entertaining movie, but the parts that are good and entertaining are well worth the $10 DVD price.