Glenn Howerton is at home playing an a**hole, so much so that I often question whether he might be one in real life (I doubt that he is, but he’s so convincing). However, he’s never played someone overtly evil with no redeeming qualities until now. Well, we could argue that about Dennis Reynolds, but that’s a whole other article. Anyway, he’s great at playing evil, and his hair, sideburns, and mustache are a sight to behold.
Zolee Griggs is powerful as Indigo. I have to admit I haven’t seen her in anything else (Dear RZA, please forgive me for not watching Wu-Tang: An American Saga yet), but I am going to be on the lookout for more from her in the future. Skylan Brooks is the glue that holds the whole movie together, which is no small feat, especially for a young actor.
“…has a sense of humor, but it’s not schlocky like the universally beloved Deadpool…”
The world-building for Archenemy is great. I love the fact that this twist on superhero lore is not based on a comic book. It feels like it could be, and should be, but it’s not. There are wonderful animations by Kevin Finnegan, Danny Perez, and Sunando C that appear on-screen whenever Max Fist talks about his homeworld that lend it a graphic-novel quality. I also like the dark and psychedelic atmosphere. It’s never too cartoony and could never be mistaken for family-friendly. It has a sense of humor, but it’s not schlocky like the universally beloved Deadpool (yeah, fight me, that movie annoys me).
Its seriousness is not as highfalutin and sometimes forced as in Nolan’s Batman entries. Basically, Archenemy is the type of superhero movie made for people who get a little sick of all these cinematic comic-book universes. It’s mostly reminiscent of James Gunn’s Super or Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-A*s, but only by its framework. I think it’s the most original take on superherodom I’ve seen in ages. It’s also just a badass action movie with a lot of violence, which any red-blooded American should be right at home with.
I will end my rant about how much I love Archenemy now. It’s one of my favorite movies from this hellhole of a year. It’s very cathartic. Max Fist may not be the hero we need, but he’s absolutely the one we deserve. I think you’ll have a lot of fun watching him mop the floor with a whole lot of scumbags, even if he might be a bit of a scumbag himself. This movie straight out rules, as I said at the beginning. Now get off the internet and watch it!
"…one of my favorite movies from this hellhole of a year."
