The Hyperions

Jon McDonald's superhero comedy "The Hyperions" is quite possibly the most unique entry in the superhero genre I have ever seen. Its use of cartoonish visual effects to convey superpowers is gleeful to watch and it never gets old.

The humor is much akin to a Wes Anderson film, with dry jokes pervading the screenplay in every scene. Not all of them land, but they always fill the already fantastical world with even more levity.

I was surprised by how much I liked the characters and how they interact with one another. They're all distinct with their own unique grudges against each other, and it's cathartic at times to watch them overcome their misgivings.

Unfortunately, this film contains a lot of high concepts, and packing them all into 90 minutes proves a little too daunting. It certainly doesn't waste any of its impressive story and world building elements, but none of them are used quite as effectively as they could have been. The film ends feeling quite rushed...all of the characters' emotions and the superpower elements could have been explored and integrated far more deeply and effectively than they were.

Despite its somewhat surface-level treatment of its deep material, this is a breezy watch, and a far more engrossing one than I was expecting.