Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion (2008) User Reviews

a classic among bad films

[Buddy-51 · 2/10 · 20 March 2010]

A movie virtually guaranteed to wind up in the DVD bargain bin in record-setting time, "Super Capers" is an indescribably awful attempt at superhero parody. It features a group of inept comic book figures, clad in ill-fitting get-ups, who bumble and stumble their way to victory against a passel of toothless bad guys.

The movie's idea of humor consists mainly of goofy sound effects and corny musical cues playing on the soundtrack, though I suspect that their sole function is to alert us as to when we should be laughing (there's really no other way for us to know, since, unlike a TV sitcom, it doesn't come equipped with its own laugh track).

Out of respect for any possible careers they may still have ahead of them, the actors shall remain nameless, though Adam West (TV's Batman) and June Lockhart stop by to show us just how far has-been actors can be forced to lower themselves when there simply aren't any decent roles left for them anymore.

At the end, the director of this fiasco, Ray Griggs, thanks the "directors who inspired" him during his childhood, namely George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Peter Jackson. Sounds like the makings of a good class-action lawsuit, if you ask me.

"Super Capers" is...not AS bad as I thought it would be...??

[MovieHoliks · 4/10 · 20 March 2015]

I just watched this off HBO GO last night, and just looking at the overall production values (and the fact I never heard of it in the 6 years since it was released), I thought it would be absolutely horrible. Now it was bad, don't get me wrong, but not AS horrible as I thought it would be. It's got a great cast- Michael Rooker, Justin Whalin, Clint Howard, Tom Sizemore, Adam West (not as "Batman", but as "Manbat" LOL), Danielle Harris, etc.. and I did chuckle every now and then (that Arnold-imitating robot- stupid, yes, but I couldn't help laughing at it- more so than with it.. o.O ).

Well, the funniest stuff in the movie for me (other than the silly robot) was some of the stuff more at the beginning with like Clint Howard and Tom Sizemore, but...if you want to see a super-hero comedy dealing with the sorta super-hero mythology, and playing around with that, see something like "Mystery Men" (1999) or, better yet, 2008's wonderful Peter Berg-directed "Hancock", starring Will Smith. This movie TBH seems to be more of a "kiddie movie"...

somewhere between boring, unfunny and stupid

[dien · 2/10 · 8 January 2012]

When I first learnt about his film, I was intrigued. When I saw the trailer, I was more than interested. A funny superhero parody, with movie references and comic style drawings? This was going to be sweet. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Basically, nothing works here - the jokes fall flat, the parody is barely present and the is replaced by unbearable campiness. All the funny moments can be seen in the trailer.

The actors did their job, cashed their pay-checks and went home immediately forgetting what movie they had just been in. The best one is b far Adam West and he's in it for about two minutes. That should tell you about the quality of acting.

Whatever the authors intentions were, they didn't succeed. For me the worst part were the constant movie references - after about 30 minutes they got incredibly annoying.

I can't recommend it to anyone. It's bad. Not in a good way, more in a "how long until the end credits?" way.

How did this movie get made?

[chicagorob1 · 25 August 2009]

Don't get me wrong, I love spoof films. Well, good spoof films. But Super Capers isn't a good spoof film.

Sure, it has a slightly recognizable cast, with some surprising cameos. And sure, the genre is ripe for a good spoof, and there are a couple (maybe 1 1/2) moments of true humor, but Super Capers just plain misses the mark most of the time.

The use of stupid sound effects, giving Whalen the lead and the total lack of any powerful super-villains (a bad guy who waddles really, really fast and a cool looking minotaur) shows that the creator didn't really know what to do beyond "Let's make a movie!".

Where did the Writer/Director/Producer/Actor come from? Ray Griggs' only other real production is a 7 minute test reel for a movie about Lucifer that is still "in production" after three years.

Where in the world did Griggs get the backing and support to make such a bad "big" movie? These things aren't cheap. If only Neill Blonkamp of "District 9" fame had gotten this kind of backing, he wouldn't have had to waste his time working in the system for over 10 years.

If you want a good superhero spoof movie, check out Superhero Movie. It's not Shakespeare, but at least they were a lot closer on the spoof material.

A hapless, and clueless super hero wannabe has his day.

[ltlacey · 1/10 · 22 July 2009]

First off, I do not know how to rate this movie. If this was supposed to be a parody, spoof or a satirical take on super heroes and super hero movies it was palatable, but just barely as had its moments that were not too bad. If it was supposed to be a "serious" (I use this term loosely) super hero movie, then I'd give it a -4. The Moviemeter shows it up almost 7400% for the week (HELLO???!!!), so someone is watching this bomb and either likes it, or gets it, or is too wasted to care (my choice; and maybe what one needs to do is be wasted before watching this movie!). Or the entire system is rigged (my personal belief on how movies are rated on....). That this movie actually had a plot, though stolen from too many movies to list, makes me think they were trying for a spoof, but unfortunately did not quite hit the mark. Too bad, as it could have been a fairly okay movie.

The Origins of Super Crappers

[Vincent_B · 1/10 · 3 August 2010]

Once upon a time at a college party, four highly intoxicated frat boys began writing a movie script. They sat around laughing about farts and how cool it would be to have a superhero whoopee cushion. One of the others managed to log on to the internet and send the whole script they wrote, yes all eight pages, directly to Ray Griggs. Who stole some additional lines from "Return of the Jedi", "Empire Strikes Back", "Star Trek", and "Back to the Future". But Ray needed funding. So he convinced Reuben Lim, Michael Kim Binder, and Fiona Walsh to help fund the movie about a superhero who receives his powers from God and prayer. Ray was also convinced this would assure his movie would be picked up as an option by CBN. This is where Ray really began to shine, he had to find actors just slightly better than the local weatherman, willing to flush any hope for a future in acting, just for a paycheck. Meanwhile back at the frat house the four boys barely remembered that night they almost ruined their lives by having their names attached to this pathetic turd.

It Works Once You Realize That It Was Made for Children

[amnesiac12001 · 5/10 · 3 December 2017]

SUPER CAPERS is a bad film with a great idea: make a live-action superhero cartoon with nods to Looney Tunes and AIRPLANE! Unfortunately, the execution is a mixed bag that makes it hard to pin down exactly why it doesn't work.

The problem is that SUPER CAPERS is an antique: a high-concept live-action comedy for children. I mean ACTUAL children: from about 4 to 9 years old. They haven't made films like that since the 1990s, and even now, such films usually revolve around talking animals with a supporting human cast. For this reason, the film is full of jokes, homages, and gags that are straight-up rip-offs of other movies that can make it painful to watch if you're an adult who doesn't chuckle at the sight of a flux capacitor in an RV designed to look like the DeLorean.

This was the director's intention, but I didn't realize it until I heard him say so on the audio commentary. It's also the reason why the film is shot in an old-fashioned widescreen format that makes the sets look like sets, and the action fairly boring and uninteresting. The pacing is off, the editing isn't tight enough, and the acting is a tad under-rehearsed, although the cast is game and skilled enough to push through it.

All this makes for a lame movie with lots of slapstick humor that isn't as funny as it should be. But to be fair, since this film wasn't made for adults, it's kind of hard to be so critical of it. Once you take into account that it was made for kids who just wanna watch goofy stuff, it actually kinda works. The director is religious, so there's a little bit of a "message" in the film, but not to the point of proselytizing.

So the film is a rather bland and boringly unfunny film if you see it with adult eyes. But if you imagine yourself watching it as a kid in the late 80s, you can actually kind of enjoy it.

I don't understand why people actually like this movie

[silver_surfer-570-549518 · 1/10 · 31 October 2009]

This got to be one of the worst movie I've seen so far.How can a movie like this hit the Big Screen is a mystery. It's more like a home-made videos, made especially for KIDS. And I'm really surprised at seeing some of the cast, or is it because they have some personal commitment to fulfill, that they were forced into acting in this "Z-Graded movie". There's nothing at all worth mentioning in this movie. The jokes weren't funny, the sound effect was silly,the plot was non-existent etc... Anyway I couldn't watch till the end, because I knew i was gonna breakdown, as it was sheer torture for me. The title of the movie should be 'Super Flopper'. Normally spoof films are bad but this one is super bad. If you enjoy this movie then I recommend - Loony tunes show, Weather Report, watching a grass grow and so on..

Money horribly spent

[TVhound · 1/10 · 23 January 2012]

This movie absolutely blows! Even for what it is supposed to be, a low budget super hero spoof. Ray Griggs did a shameless job of acting in his own movie with uninspired skill. As a director he spent the money on the things that were not in the shot very long and not focusing on costumes falling apart in close-ups. Two million dollars on what? The neighbor kid makes better movies and all he has is a cheap DV camera and some imagination ..which this thing lacks. I hope you are sued, not by all of shameless unauthorized Easter eggs but by everyone who paid money to see this. Don't bother even if your tastes includes cheesy spoof comedy. Nothing to see here, move along.

I know people gotta work, but damn.

[mshadowsj71 · 1/10 · 6 December 2013]

This movie had a 2 million dollar budget, and grossed around $31,000 total. And I guess Tom Sizemore will take anything that is thrown at him these days. I really am at a loss after watching this, seriously. AVOID AT ALL COSTS, should be the tag line for this movie. I have to write a minimum of 10 lines before I submit my review, and I can't think of anything else to say about this turd other than what I have previously stated, so please view at your own discretion. I watched this on Epixdr, and I know I made a big mistake. I know people have to work, and with that being said, They will still make more garbage like this in the future.

This makes Green Lantern look like the Godfather.

Corny, but OK for kids and a few cheap laughs

[jmuntmootcourt · 5/10 · 13 April 2012]

So I won't try to tell you that everybody is wrong and that this is a great movie. Watch the preview, and you'll see it's only a couple steps away from Power Rangers cheesiness.

However, a la crappy and corny kiddie stuff, kids do love it and there are a few funny asides and inside jokes for comic and movie fans throughout the script as well as with the casting. If you like Balls of Fury and the "Fill in the Blank...Movie" parodies (Epic Movie, Scary Movie, Superhero Movie, etc), you'll probably enjoy this one a little bit.

It's intentionally awful and corny, and obviously cheaply made, but it was worth the 4 bucks I paid for it to have a less serious superhero movie to serve as a bit of a gateway for my 3 little boys so that they can enjoy the better stuff with me when their attention spans grow a bit more! I gave this a 5 because it's tolerable and entertaining, even though it's pretty juvenile in its intentional silliness. Most of you will probably rather watch it after a few beers, but if you have kids that aren't ready for the Dark Knight and Watchmen yet, this is a decent kid-friendly compromise :)

Phenomonal movie !! 10 out of 10

[HoldMyBlunt · 10/10 · 22 February 2022]

Haters gonna hate. Did i actually pay attention to any of this movie in its entirety? Nope.

Itcwas like back to the future, startrek, and the man goonies all had a movie child. Not too sure why there were so nany different religious in the movie tho. Meh who reLly cates. I give this movie 10 stars because people who rate movies are ignorant on here. Thise are the 1 star personalities tgare are only made cause they alone and a virgin.

I don't understand why the others didn't like this movie

[akmafaz_144 · 7/10 · 20 October 2009]

First off, let me say, so many people on IMDb just don't know how to comment on a movie or even rate it, personally, I watch a lot of movies and I was quite reluctant to watch this movie as it was a low budget movie but I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Sure, maybe the acting is not the greatest but it was actually quite funny and a great movie to watch if you have nothing else to watch. I'm pretty sure the above raters are grumpy old 40 year olds, but I assure you, this movie is worth the time, it wouldn't live up to standards of major flicks, but it would be a great great family movie. I especially loved the way it was made like a comic, with occasionally words like "ping" and "whack" appearing on the screen, which gave it an extra effect and funny sounds that made it "funny".

Its a good watch, and if you have kids, WATCH IT, but if you are "OLD" and are very serious and think movies should be "REAL" then KEEP AWAY and stop writing negative comments.

I have to add though, the ending was somewhat disappointing, I wanted to give it an eight but it dropped a mark for the ending.

But it ended up being rather bland and mundane...

[paul_haakonsen · 4/10 · 23 March 2021]

Well, I must admit that I was expecting this 2009 movie to be a bit more over in the actual comedy department, given its synopsis and the movie's cover. Sure, it was slightly in the comedy department, but not so much that the movie actually turned out to be what it could have been.

What's wrong with "Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion", aside from the title, was the storyline. Parts of the storyline were just too mundane and bland, feeling prolonged and didn't really serve much of any real purpose to the progression of the movie. And that made the movie feel unnecessary long and slow-paced.

And what was working in favor of "Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion" was the amazing display of references to an abundance of movies and TV series, such as "Back to the Future", "Star Wars", "Raider of the Lost Ark", "The A-Team", "Darkwing Duck", "Batman", "The Matrix", etc. I will actually say that sitting down to watch "Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion" just for these reference is actually worth it.

But it should also be said that the movie definitely have an impressive assembly of cast, which includes the likes of Michael Rooker, Justin Whalin, Danielle Harris, Doug Jones, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Jon Polito, Christine Lakin, Tom Lister Jr., Clint Howard and none other than Adam West himself. If you have grown up watching movies and TV series, then you are in for quite a treat.

It was a shame that "Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion" actually didn't turn out to be what it potentially could have been, because what could have been a great comedy spoof and homage, ended up being a mere mediocre movie.

Sure, "Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion" is watchable, but it is hardly a memorable movie, nor is it a movie that have much of any solid enough contents to it to sustain more than a single viewing.

My rating of the 2009 movie "Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.

Can't give it Zero stars?

[bigbarry-88130 · 1/10 · 22 July 2021]

I'd give this movie zero stars but you just CAN'T and still rate it. I lost 1:34 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. It try's to be "Deadpool" before the movie "Deadpool" was made. I wonder why would any studio give money to make this movie. Horrible movie, and a waste of a lot of good actors (Michael Rooker, Tiny Lister (R. I. P.))

I Liked It More Than I Should Have

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 21 March 2014]

A good guy with no powers joins a superhero team with no clue against a bad guy with no shame.

What this film has going for it is the incredible cast -- Danielle Harris, Tom Sizemore, Clint Howard, Michael Rooker, Jon Polito, Doug Jones, Adam West and more. If nothing else, it probably has an actor in it that you enjoy seeing.

Unfortunately, as pretty much everyone has pointed out, that is about all it has. I love Michael Rooker, and would watch him in anything, no matter how bad. And the problem here is not the acting, but the terrible jokes and overly done references to "Star Wars" and "Back to the Future" and others...

Lol funny, YEAH!!! Lol

[Baretoesroo · 7/10 · 9 March 2015]

Like a prophet, apparently this movie can't be reviewed fairly for what it is in its own time, or perhaps the humor is to deep for some, or maybe I'm just so old I get the humor. Whatever it is, I watched the movie to the very end... Past the corn bread recipe in the credits and beyond lol Keep in mind, The Princess Bride wasn't appreciated by most in its day either but what a great movie that was. I hope someday they make the sequel because this was a very funny movie for me at least. Old in body, young at heart. I went in to this movie totally blind and with no expectations. Maybe that's why I wasn't disappointed. I laughed often and found a lot in this movie to be admired. For one thing, I can watch it with my kids and there is a bit of a shortage on comedies I can watch with my kids, (ranging form 10-25) that will keep them all entertained. All in all, if I feel i definitely got my money's worth and more and apparently to "Get" this movie, it might be necessary to go in without expectations and take the journey for what it is. A fun way to spend free time with people you like.