Mirageman (2007)

Strong and Moving!

Captivating movie !

Admirable film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I just saw this film 30th September 2009. I think it had some good fight scenes. This is an action packed film compared to the poorer Kiltro. It has many fight scenes. Marko actually hit and kicked the bad guys for real in this film. The only problem was, it was nearly all the times too difficult to see that. The camera angle's could have been better. As could the editing. I think they did too much of this quick cut editing.I think Marko actually punched too fast in some of the fights. He punched so fast i couldn't see them. I think they should have told him to slow down, so the viewers could actually see the punches. I didn't like the sound effect's they used for the punches. I think it literally lacked punch and bass. Other than that, it was good. I really liked the reporter in this film named Carol Valdivieso.I was just glued to screen every time she appeared. I love those fine dark brown eyes. What a looker!. But, one thing i didn't like was that she dyed her hair blond later in the film. I think she looked best with brown hair. So, if you was disappointed like me after watching Kiltro, you will be more happy to watch this film. As said, many more fights than Kiltro.

Here comes a new superhero movie from… Chile? Why not? This is not a typical superhero story. In fact 'super' is downright inaccurate while 'hero' just barely applies – at first.Marko Zaror, a stuntman and reputed martial artist, stars as Maco, a quiet and respectful bouncer working at a local strip club. When not working, Maco is a fitness and workout nut. The seemingly gratuitous scenes showing Maco working out, charting calories, and taking amino acids seem like filler at first, but what the film is doing is introducing the character and showing his solitary life that contains little meaning outside of fitness and his institutionalized brother.Maco's family was brutally attacked three years earlier. In the attack, the father and mother were murdered, the youngest brother beaten and sodomized, and Maco was beaten to near death. Since that time Maco has been training, working out, fanatically practicing martial arts for… something. Maco's brother is in a mental hospital due to the severe trauma of the murder and rape.One night while jogging Maco stumbles across a robbery in progress outside of a suburban house. After instinctively disabling one bad guy, Maco hears screams coming from inside the house. Maco grabs the bad guy's mask and enters, surprising the bad guys and saving the day. One of the rescued victims is ambitions tabloid television reporter Carol V (María Elena Swett).Carol V broadcasts a commentary piece the next night on her television show in which she calls the man that rescued her a "hero" without a Batmobile or cape. Maco is stunned by the reaction and the gears in his head start clicking. The gears become unstoppable when Maco visits his brother at the institution. For the first time since the attack, Maco's brother is responsive. It seems he was inspired by the report of the regular guy superhero. Maco then becomes convinced that he can stop the type of evil that happened to his parents, inspire his brother to get better, and perhaps earn the adoration of such public as Carol V."Mirageman" is a difficult and ultimately rewarding movie. In it's short 87 minute running time, "Mirageman" changes tone three different times. By far the most amusing scenes come early in Maco's career as Mirageman. Mirageman has to fight what would be the first real life challenge of any superhero: Practicality. Mirageman has to overcome cumbersome costume difficulties which include time required to change into the costume and where to stash his non-hero clothes. And of course transportation. Although Maco's "origin story" is similar to Bruce Wayne, Maco is no billionaire. His costume is pieced together from a sporting goods store and he owns no car. At first he takes the bus when battling villainy. "Mirageman" also revels in the belly-bouncing glee of how a superhero must hold himself while walking around. "The Dark Knight" and "Spider-Man" never shows the viewer what it's like when the Caped Crusader or the Web-Slinger has to, say, simply walk up stairs or down a hallway. How would they act while doing the mundane? Marco deals with that as Mirageman. The extended sequences showing the costumed Mirageman 'creeping' in bright sunlight with his arms held to ready like an arcade game are both funny and uncomfortably awkward.The second tone of "Mirageman" deals with the life of a hero after he's sorta figured it out. This includes the surprising public reaction to their very own superhero and the ways that a simple masked man trying to do good can be exploited and become something of which he never wished. Maco also has to deal with what fans he has and hopefully deal with that embarrassing transportation issue. Maybe a sidekick would be just the thing? Maco goes through many transformations during the movie. I honestly can't remember more than one or two lines that Zaror has as Maco. Most of the character building is deftly conveyed using what the viewer already knows about 'superheros' and situational drama. Although he never says it, we feel Maco's pain, inadequacies, and sense of justice. The third tone is set as Maco has to deal with these issues and the very real likelihood that, in order the make a real difference, he may have to risk it all.The last act is brutal and realistic – a sharp contrast when compared to the relative camp of the opening act. One gets the feeling that this is what it would be like to take that mantel of responsibility.Mirageman is left exploring a final question. Does he truly want to be a Hero? from www.PopBunker.net @popbunker

This is rational and perspective review:If created in US, this movie would be laughable, ridiculed by all, and reduced to its own special place on a shelf in your local video store. The main actor would receive invitation to be an extra in a movie directed by Dolf Lundgren, and from there he would slowly grow as an actor, until the highlight of his career will be playing a bodyguard for a villain in a movie directed by Uwe Boll.But since it's not, since this was created in Chile and has this special exotic smell, it goes to film festivals and gets screenings at the theaters. The main actor will still receive invitation to be in a Dolf Lundgren's movie, but that is not the point.The movie looks like an amateur action/martial arts movie, but actually has a little more to offer. The martial arts are good, and although it's not Tony Jaa good, the important thing is that it looks and feels very real. That is a first achievement. There are some funny scenes, sort of self humor, that have this WTF? potential and will make you laugh. Like when the Mirageman jumps from height to land bad on the hard asphalt, and then he rubs his foot, like it really hurt him. This small self humor is another achievement.The story is rubbish, of course, full with melodramatic moments and silly situations. The production value is very poor, some of the street scenes were filmed with hidden camera and the reaction of people is real.The Mirageman is not bold thematically, and mainly uses primitive and stereotypical tearful situations to awake some emotions in the viewer and create an empathy toward the heroic protagonist. You will find just a little complexity in this movie. But Mirageman explores some difficult issues too, like what people are capable of in order to get famous, the price of fame and what is it mean to be a hero and what are the reasons to be one. Overall the watching experience is very decent, and it even gets some big reinforcement by the ending, which is surprisingly good. The ending puts all the movie in the correct proportions, tights properly the plot, and delivers the movie as a good and solid product. The ending is the final and the biggest achievement.

OK Where do I begin , let's see. First of all the movies plot is excellent, where a normal and simple Club Bouncer transforms himself to be Chileans first Super hero but the man has nothing super about him, all he has is balls and a good martial arts background , but it just doesn't cut it. The movie had all the good ingredients to be an alright flick but needed more of every thing from action to good acting, as well as a bit more of creativity , where as we see many repeated stories from other super hero movies, Example the journalist that the hero falls for(Superman) , the making of the Super Heroe Costume (Spiderman) the looking down from a high rise building etc.... WE also see a super hero that gets his butt kicked and suffers from depression, honestly cant have that. All in all the movie needed a couple of key ingredients to pass the test, I honestly hope that there will never be a MIRAGEMAN 2 because it doesn't deserve a second part and well this being Marko Zaror's second movie as a starring role he clearly needs acting classes or just stick to being a stunt man.