Mystery Men

Play trailer

2:18

Mystery Men

PG-13

1999

2h 0m

Fantasy

Comedy

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

59%

Tomatometer

103 Reviews

57%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Champion City already has a superhero, the appropriately named Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), but that doesn't deter the city's seven quirky amateur crime-fighters, who use the Captain's capture at the hands of villain Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) as motivation to prove themselves. The only problem is that their strange powers -- silverware hurling, bowling, shovel skills, incompetent invisibility and deadly flatulence -- aren't doing them any favors.

Critics Consensus

Absurd characters and quirky gags are brought to life by a talented cast, providing this superhero spoof with lots of laughs.

Read Critics Reviews

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

12/26/2010

3/5

Witty comic-book story is edgy, with lots of potty humor.

Go to Full Review

Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

07/15/2010

The characters have been designed to make fun of themselves, disguising the craft of writer Neil Cuthbert and director Kinka Usher in getting us to laugh at them.

Go to Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

06/24/2006

Usher's amiable spoof of superhero movies takes a brave stab at rewriting the mythology from the inside out, with lots of witty, mildly subversive stuff.

Go to Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

02/20/2023

3/5

Mystery Men is admirable for its effort but falls short of the standards that we've come to expect in the spoof genre.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

11/25/2022

2/4

A colorful but flavorless dud.

Go to Full Review

John Lui

The Straits Times (Singapore)

04/02/2020

4/5

A story that sparkles with emotional warmth, strong jokes and great performances from Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, Lena Olin, Eddie Izzard, Greg Kinnear, William Macy, Geoffrey Rush and Ben Stiller.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Kass H

01/06/2024

hilarious movie that will have you laughing your ass off

See more

Andrew O

@RT08565986 Feb 26

Hilarious parody of super hero movies, before they were as big as they are now. Strongly recommend a viewing. I've owned this on VHS, DVD, and blu-ray, and watch it regularly.

See more

Matt B

@VLVLArt Feb 26

Mystery Men hit theatres in 1999. It continues to be one of my favourite movies, and a great concept: What if Supervillians threatened your city and when help arrives - its just Superhero rejects.

See more

Jacob P

@urmum Dec 9

Easily one of my favorite "lesser known" movies. If you don't like this movie, then maybe we shouldn't be friends.

See more

Michael D L

@Mlelijr77 May 20

An underrated action movie that is actually enjoyable

See more

ienjoypaste T

@RT65519881 03/17/2025

This is, in my opinion, THE superhero parody. It's a spot on lampooning of the MCU done before the MCU existed. The characters are gloriously wacky and unhinged in a way that speaks of a deep and profound love of four-color comics, and the art direction is - bar none - THE best art direction I have seen in ANY superhero movie, period, ever, over and out. It's worth a watch. Or three.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Kinka Usher

Director

Hank Azaria

The Blue Raja

Janeane Garofalo

The Bowler

William H. Macy

The Shoveller

Kel Mitchell

The Invisible Boy

Paul Reubens

The Spleen

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Superhero Auditions

1:50

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Superhero Training

3:02

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Confronting Casanova

2:55

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Rallying the Team

2:06

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Captain Amazing's Idea

1:14

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Mr. Furious Holds Back

1:30

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Silent and Deadly

2:06

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Dinner Full of Bicker

2:48

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Capturing Captain Amazing

2:23

Mystery Men: Official Clip - Mr. Furious Gets Mad

2:13

View more videos

Small Soldiers

50%

46%

Small Soldiers

Watchlist

The Medallion

17%

27%

The Medallion

Watchlist

Bulletproof Monk

22%

38%

Bulletproof Monk

Watchlist

R.I.P.D.

13%

38%

R.I.P.D.

Watchlist

Hancock

42%

59%

Hancock

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Hancock

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Best Superhero Movie of Each Year Since 1998

How Mystery Men Planted the Seeds for the MCU Template

Mystery Men: Trailer 1

2:18

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Champion City already has a superhero, the appropriately named Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), but that doesn't deter the city's seven quirky amateur crime-fighters, who use the Captain's capture at the hands of villain Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) as motivation to prove themselves. The only problem is that their strange powers -- silverware hurling, bowling, shovel skills, incompetent invisibility and deadly flatulence -- aren't doing them any favors.

Director: Kinka Usher
Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Mike Richardson
Screenwriter: Bob Burden, Neil Cuthbert
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Dark Horse Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 6, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $29.8M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now