The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) User Reviews

A Curate's Egg - good in parts

[Steve_from_Wales · 5/10 · 4 June 2005]

This is a film that could have become a cult classic with better editing. Some bits just don't work - in the BBC TV showing these were edited out; if you can, get that version rather than the full version on DVD. If you do have the DVD version watch it once through then just skip the bits that left you cold.

The humour is mostly pretty low-brow, with some appalling puns, but there's more than one level; if you're a fan of DC or Marvel comics, watch sci-fi movies or know Australian and American politics and history there are some fine little gags buried in here.

There are also some very subtle sight gags - a film to watch the backgrounds as well as the foregrounds...

My particular favourite is what Christopher Lee eats in the film; watch the meal scenes and you'll see what I mean.

Don't worry too much about the plot - it is there and it makes sense, but it's a comic-book plot not a big story. Also, don't worry about some of the odder characters - they are ALL there for a reason, but if you haven't read/seen the right things you'll never work them out.

The songs are generally very clever and, despite the singing not being the best, well delivered. "Drinking Song" is probably the highlight, with Christopher Lee doing what he does best - showing his teeth and megalomaniac glare, although his "singing" is on a par with certain other actors (William Shatner and Telly Savalas come to mind). "Mr. Midnight" is also funny; shot as two scenes; Chris with leathers and whip, surrounded by scantily-clad dominatrices, Alan on a train trying to be anonymous whilst singing and dancing.

This is also Terry Pratchett's favourite film - I actually have one of his books signed "to the OTHER person who likes Captain Invincible". So there are at least *four* people in the world who loved this film - granted, the other two are my kids and they may be humouring their old man.

Cop Rock meets Rocky meets Superman

[Mike Sh. · 6/10 · 26 December 2005]

The strangest movie I've seen since "Popeye" - part action movie, part fantasy, part comedy and part musical, this movie stars Alan Arkin as a onetime Captain America-type superhero who fell into obscurity after being accused of being a Commie by a McCarthy-like politician. Now years later, a group of scientists, government officials and military types are trying to sober him up and bring him back to superhero trim so he may save the human race from a new peril.

That's the plot in a nutshell, but it's really the songs which make the movie. The President of the USA, annoyed at the bovine excreta being shoveled his way by his advisers, suddenly screams "B______t!", and turns the expletive into a snappy toe tapping tune. If you look carefully, you can see the actor playing the President trying to keep a straight face (and not quite succeeding).

This isn't a consistently good or entertaining movie, but the parts that are good and entertaining are well worth the $10 DVD price.

Christopher Lee Singing!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 10 August 2009]

Christopher Lee is, apart from a demigod of horror and an amazing human being altogether, a very strange and unpredictable individual… Not that long ago I saw a film called "Meat Cleaver Massacre" and Lee allegedly wanted to sue the producers for using footage of him that he wasn't aware of. He wanted to go to court because he didn't know he starred in a not even that bad film, yet he voluntarily starred in THIS totally bonkers and jaw-dropping flamboyant Aussie flick?!? What the hell kind of career-swings are these?

Anyway, "The Return of Captain Invincible" is one gigantically delirious and extravagant cinematic conglomeration of Sci-Fi, comedy, musical, superhero-action and satire. I probably never would have known this movie existed if it wasn't for the recently released documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: the Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation". I swear, I've stumbled upon a lot of crazy and obscure Aussie stuff since the fine day I watched that film, but this puppy is undoubtedly the craziest of them all! The set-up of "The Return of Captain Invincible" is a lot more clever and original than you might think, actually. One could even claim that it's a forerunner of such popular films like Pixar's "The Incredibles", "Spiderman" and "Hancock", as this movie was the first to depict the powers and responsibilities of a superhero more as a burden rather than as a blessing. The film opens marvelously with a series of newspaper clippings and black-and-white flashbacks illustrating the glorious rise and immediately subsequent fall of superhero Captain Invincible. He saved the world from Nazi terrorism but then the media soiled his reputation linked him to a communist network. The disappointed Cap retired from New York to Sydney and spent many years drinking and drifting around. Now the world desperately needs him again, as the evil Mr. Midnight plots to take over New York, but Captain Invincible is reluctant to save the hypocrites that exiled him and – moreover – he forgot how to fly…

"The Return of Captain Invincible" is the prototypic example of a 'hit- and-miss' film. Many of the conceptual ideas are terrific and several sequences are both very creative and downright hilarious, but at the same time the film suffers from numerous defaults. Practically every great scene and/or moment of ingeniousness is followed by an irrelevant and dull scene or a needlessly mushy musical interlude. The film is very uneven in its set-up, exchanging absurd jokes and singing evil masterminds with moments of sentimental romance. It sometimes even feels like you're watching two entirely different films; especially when you're watching stoned like I was… The biggest entertainment value of "The Return of Captain Invincible" lies in the smaller details. Christopher Lee's sidekick, for example, looks like an evil version of Yoda with a Fu-Manchu mustache. The undeniable highlight is, as a matter of course, owned by Lee himself when he sings a hymn glorifying evil activities. Lovers of offbeat musicals might be very interest to know that nearly all songs are reminiscent to the soundtrack of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". Overall, this definitely could have been a much better film if certain parts were cut and others had been more elaborated, but it's nevertheless a unique and strangely exhilarating film. Thank you, crazy Aussie people, for yet another wondrous piece of cult legacy.

Superb super-hero spoof

[jonathan.eaton · 3 March 2001]

I love this film! Ok, the plot is a little thin, but when you have Alan Arkin playing his part so beautifully (with tongue firmly in cheek) and the marvellous spectacle of Christopher Lee as the evil Mr Midnight, coupled with songs by Richard O'Brian, who cares about a little thing like the plot?! There are lots of throwaway lines, sound gags, sight gags and puns in here which means that I can sit through repeat viewings and still find something new, much as I did with Airplane (sad but true!)and the highlight for me is Mr Midnight taunting Cap with 'Name Your Poison', one of O'Brien's best numbers (behind the Time Warp and the Floor Show from 'The Rocky Horror Show'. If the film has a weakness it's that it can't quite make up its mind whether to be a comedy, a musical, a super-hero story or indeed anything, but it still has a wonderful gentle charm. I just wish I could track down a commercial video of it in England, as my copy taped from the TV is starting to break up!

So bad, it's hysterical

[shawnaharp · 1/10 · 20 November 2007]

Saw "Captain Invincible" last week at a Bad Movie Night event and it was the worst -- and funniest -- musical I have ever seen. This movie makes "Plan 9 from Outer Space" look like "Citizen Kane"! It's meant to be a spoof and is purposefully bad, but I don't think the makers of this film intended it to be quite as awful as it really is. The musical numbers are completely lame, plenty of gratuitous nudity a la Benny Hill, there are evil punk rockers with half-mohawks, bondage clad new wave hooker chicks, attack vacuum cleaners, crazed Nazis with Yoda-like sidekicks in bad prosthetic makeup. What more could you want? Oh, yeah, a discernible plot might be nice and actors who could sing and dance would be a real bonus.

If you want to throw a boffo Bad Movie Night, I highly recommend "Captain Invincible" -- it will have your guests in stitches and explains why we're glad the 80s are long past.

A Child- Hood Memory From A Bygone Era!

[greene515 · 5/10 · 4 August 2006]

There was a time when i was a kid, my mother used to rent some strange film's this was one of them, it's been quite a while since i've seen this and i only look forward to picking this up on DVD, What i can remember is The great Alan Arkin is Captain Invincible, and The alway's great Sir Christopher Lee, is his arch nemesis who with the aid of his sidekick, a Sock puppet of some sort, decide to take control of New York, The Return of Captain Invincible is seriously for Alan Arkin Fan's and Sir Christopher Lee( who in fact belt's out some sort of impromptu show-tune! Apparently George Miller of Mad Max, and that terrible pig movie 'Babe' had something to do with this curio, So that's All i can recall until i then watch this space for a much decent rating and review!

Warped, But Fun

[crossbow0106 · 7/10 · 17 July 2010]

Who will save the world? The now drunken, down and out former superhero who used to be the saviour of the world (the first seven minutes of the film are told in clever black and white newsreels) whose powers have lost him? Finding him in Sydney, he is brought back to combat the evil Mister Midnight (Christopher Lee). A significant portion of the film has him eventually drying out and regaining his strength. The film is partially a musical in the "Rocky Horror" vein. The film is definitely not for children, it has some parts not suitable for them. A big plus is the always watchable Alan Arkin as Captain Invincible. A lesser actor would have sunk this role, but he is lots of fun and, as usual, puts in a great performance. If you think you'll like a crazy film about a washed up superhero who is wanting to save the earth, and like that it is played for laughs, then enjoy. Its a great Saturday afternoon film. Check it out.

The Fantastic Four was more entertaining

[Sic Coyote · 3/10 · 5 January 2004]

I've been wanting to see this movie for ages because I love tongue in cheek musicals and Christopher Lee is good. Unfortunatly I got the dvd recently and watched it, it's just not entertaining or funny. The singing is rather bad, even if it's comedy singing you want to have people who can sing to a certain degree, the plot is full of holes and some places makes no sense at all. But all that isn't important if it's funny and entertaining, but it isn't. I said The Fantastic Four was more entertaining, and it is (The unreleased Corman movie that is). This film was lacking that spark, the songs were poorly constructed and the actors uninspiring, if you liked Rocky Horror & Little Shop of Horrors then avoid this, the values those films had aren't here. There was one point where he was being attacked by vacume cleaners where he said "This really sucks!" my sentiments exactly. 3/10

Not everyone's fave dish, but ... oh man!

[Dorthonion · 8/10 · 6 June 2002]

"The Return Of Captain Invincible" starts with one of the greatest spoofs of a newsreel show I have ever seen in cinema as a pre-title sequence. Funny moments and tragicomic situations follow back-to-back, but the definite scene-stealers are the songs (two of which feature Christopher Lee's voice). How much better can a song about the eductive power of alcohol start than with these immortal lines: "Mai Tai say that I'm Old-Fashioned / Tres vin ordinaire / That I want a fresh Manhattan / With white Anglo-Saxons everywhere / A Black Russian's / No Pink Lady / Give her the Singapore Sling / And Moscow Mule is not your baby / So Highball the Vodka and name your sting"? But I'm digressing: if you have a nostalgic love for old superhero movies, are not opposed to a little parody on the US and Australia alike, and are willing to follow that film in its occasionally whimsy turns, this is your choice for a late night film with friends (and don't forget to "Have a short or a Port or a snort of any sort" while watching)!

Long before the dawn of man... there was EVIL EVERYWHERE!!

[cold_lazarou · 7/10 · 12 April 2013]

This is a little neglected gem of a movie that i have very fond memories of staying up way past my bedtime to watch on TV. I was around ten years old, and it was a school night, but i was intrigued by the thought of a superhero musical starring Dracula himself: Sir Christopher of Lee! At that age i was into anything and everything superhero related: every Marvel and DC comic i could find, the Bill Bixby 'Hulk' series, the Nicholas Hammond 'Spider-Man' flicks, and even the old 'Batman' and 'Superman' movie serials that used to run on morning TV during the school holidays. But nothing could quite prepare me for the warped genius of 'The Return of Captain Invincible'!

From the dropout ex-hero's drunken ramblings of how he intercepted Skylab as it plummeted through he atmosphere ("I attempted to catch it... but it was moving... at great speed!"), through his rehab programme to become a fit and active caped crusader again and foil the plot of the diabolical Mr Midnight ("Hold on / Sit tight / You never, ever did right / Roll on Midnight / You're spoiling for the big fight!"), to the perfidious villain's tempting of the good Captain will the delights of alcohol ("Choose yer booze!") this was an unremitting joy that still lingers in my mind years later. Shame that it's apparently still not out on R2 DVD, but i may well try and seek out a region 1 copy if it's cheap enough, just to relive this little classic.

I'm insensible for Captain Invincible!

Who made this man a Captain? oh, and Christopher Lee is good...

[Quinoa1984 · 4/10 · 1 May 2010]

The Return of Captain Invincible tries too hard to be something really wacky and crazy and subversive as a spoof on super heroes, but it doesn't (ahem) fly. Some of it may just be my fault, that the film reminded me just too much of other films (the opening newsreel, for example, is so much like The Incredibles as to boggle the mind thinking Brad Bird may have even watched this for inspiration, and don't get me started on the flying scenes with Invincible). But some of it falls on the director, Philippe Mora, and even on Alan Arkin. I usually enjoy Arkin a lot in his performances, and can be very funny and affecting in roles. Here he's not given a whole lot to make Invincible worth trying to make likable (an ex-drunk brought back into service and is a big-ass magnet who can sometimes but not always fly) or worth a damn. And, a bigger problem, he's just not that funny in the part.

True, little things do make up for it... or make that one big thing, and that's Christopher Lee. As Mr. Midnight, a diabolical villain with a deformed creature as his minion and with lots of baddies and other mass weapons at his disposal (and a bad-ass cave with diagrams of New York City to boot), he steals the show. This is putting it mildly, perhaps, since there isn't much show to steal from him. Mora tries to build around his two leads with a lot of awkward pacing and jokes that fall flat (the 'Bull-s***' song by one of the generals in the war room is overreaching), and at other times dialog is just off-balance alongside the directing.

Another problem is this: if you have a kooky comedy-musical, make good songs, that's it, or at least have interesting musical numbers. The song cues that come up here are just badly staged and not clever or entertaining... that is, except for the ones where Christopher Lee shows up. This isn't simply a case of favoritism, though Lee is amazing when given a small opportunity. He somehow gets the material better than even the director does, and when he puts on those two numbers in his cave (or one and a half if you count the one where he and Arkin split the number), one of which near the end and all about making fun of Invincible for being a drunk and tempting him, it's brilliance! If you must, if nothing else, do watch his scenes on Youtube; perhaps someone will do everyone a favor and edit together Lee's scenes, which is worth stopping doing whatever it is at any moment of the day to watch and absorb.

The rest of the film, sadly, is kind of a bust. It's too dull, lifeless, and Mora, for all of his little tricks with the camera (a dutch angle here and there, some intentionally silly green-screen effects) can't overcome the material being so wobbily and uninteresting. If you have to watch a comedy about a drunk superhero, just watch Hancock - or (if you're reading this post 2014) Birdman.

I think I like it.

[bokman7757 · 8/10 · 11 October 2003]

I just saw the film for the first time tonight, so these are some brief impressions.

This virtually unknown little movie is a weird, goofy, silly, and touchingly sincere experience. The very premise of the film is fascinating, and though we've seen the "old-time hero in the modern world" premise before and since, this is one effort that really delves into the potential of that idea. The script keeps dropping in bits of social satire and commentary; the evil villain's plot is essentially the inverse of "white flight", seeking to "purify" New York by luring all the minorities to the suburbs and then killing them. The implication that he's also the supreme evil force in the universe adds a neat mythic touch. The Captain's quest to re- capture the spirit of America that inspired him to begin with is rather sweet, and Kate Fitzpatrick is charming as the spunky heroine. (Arkin and Lee are great, but aren't they always.) The songs are generally fun, even when predictable- despite being written by a number of different people (including Richard O' Brien!) they've got a nice consistency.

It's a flawed film in many ways- the humor is uneven, ranging from the clever to the silly (often at the same time- though "Amazing Computer Brain is Stuck!" got a laugh from me.) The finale is so abbreviated that I'm convinced there were scenes that were either cut or never filmed. And, this isn't really a criticism, but I do wonder why Australians were making a movie about the American spirit.

Still, this movie doesn't deserve the sheer obscurity it seems to suffer. It's undoubtedly a unique film, and as such provides a truly fascinating experience.

Hard to rate because it's bad...but it's intentionally bad.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 9 April 2024]

"The Return of Captain Invincible" is a tough movie to rate. It is a bad movie, there's no denying that. But unlike some bad films, this one was intentionally bad...much like "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes". It also is unusual because although it stars an American and a British actor, the movie was made in Australia.

The story begins with an overview of the career of Captain Invincible...and I think it's the best part of the movie. During WWII, Invincible was a huge factor in how the Allies beat the Axis and Invincible was a hero that everyone seemed to love...aside from the Nazis and Japanese, of course. However, a few years later, during the Red Scare, Invincible's loyalty was called into question by Joe McCarthy and his toadies...and Invincible was emotionally broken. In fact, the was so broken, he left the States, moved to Australia, and became a drunken bum. The rest of the film is about how the Captain became rehabilitated and once again returns to save the world...this time from the evil Mr. Midnight (Christopher Lee).

A lot of the jokes fall flat...I'll admit that. But the overall story is cute and made me laugh from time to time. It has a few lovely moments, a few bad ones and a few in the middle. I think most people would not love this movie but the right type person would. As I've seen "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" in the theater, I'm exactly the type.

It's not devoid of fun

[Blazehgehg · 5/10 · 13 September 2023]

I suppose to some degree this movie was meant to be subversive. An all-American, golden-age super hero named Captain Invincible (think Superman) is called out of retirement to help the United States government on a mission to defeat his arch nemesis, Mr. Midnight. Unfortunately, Invincible is an old, washed up alcoholic that's forgotten how to use his powers.

He swears! He drinks! There's sexual innuendo! He laments, constantly, all the time, about how things "used to be better back in his day" in such a way that makes me think he yearns for the days where he could be openly racist. There's even a gender politics joke that despite being written in 1983 feels like it was said in 2023, where Captain Invincible is exhausted by the idea he can't say "police woman" anymore and instead has to say "police person." Some things never change, I guess.

A few jokes do, in fact, land. There's a pie fight in a deli that ends up pretty fun, with a good punchline to boot. It's nice to see Christopher Lee as Mr. Midnight, and he indulges in as much theatricality as he can muster, rolling his R's with the best of them. There is some fun to be had.

But it is the text book definition of "mid" otherwise. A curiosity.

It's no Rocky Horror Picture Show but it has Sir Christopher Lee

[t_atzmueller · 2 August 2011]

The Return of Captain Invincible It seems a law of nature that a certain percentage of movies just don't age very well. Some can be viewed decades later and still impress the first-time viewer, others you have to had seen during it's time in order to appreciate it later. Unfortunately, "The Return of Captain Invincible" belongs to the latter category.

It's not a bad film, by no means. "TRoCI" comfortably between Superman-spoof, musical satire of the US- / Australian way of life but unfortunately it's also a little too 'harmless' for most (modern) viewers. A little less slapstick and a little more grittiness / realism could have made "TRoCI" a comedic predecessor of Zack Snyder's "Watchmen".

Like with most of his roles, the performance of Alan Arkin is beyond criticism. He remains the world's most funny unfunny man. He seems to conjure up comedy as through magic and almost unexplainable. And as what is commonly known as a "Christophile", an ardent fan of Sir Christopher Lee, I consider it blasphemous ever to write a negative word in the same sentence. Indeed, "Citizen Cain", "The Godfather" or "The Seven Samurai" are all good pictures, which only have one fault: neither of them stars Christopher Lee.

Thinking what directors like Robert Altman, Blake Edwards, Jim Abrahams or David Zucker could have made from this material, the films weakest link remains the director. Philippe Mora seems more at home with schlock-horror flicks, rather than either comedy or musical. On the comedic side, his direction is restraint while there seems an almost desperate attempt to be the next "Rocky Horror Picture Show" – it isn't; by the standards of a musical, it's "Shock Treatment" at best. The songs are simply neither strong nor memorable enough, with the exception of "Name your Poison", performed by his highness Sir Christopher himself. The line "There's nothing sicker in society than the lack of liquor and sobriety" is worth an Oscar itself and makes one dream: what if Richard O'Brien had written the songs, what a musical it could have been.

I have to admit, I have a hard time giving a film that features either his eminence Sir Christopher Lee or Alan Arkin a bad rating – an old habit that I have broken only for "Star Wars II – The Clone Wars". That said, the 7 out of 10 points I'm giving should probably been a 6 or 5 ½. Oh well.

A swing and a miss... and a musical, nonetheless...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 18 August 2022]

I must admit that I was expecting a tad more from the 1983 comedy "The Return of Captain Invincible" than what writers Steven E. De Souza and Andrew Gaty delivered. Why? Well, the synopsis sounded fun, and I figured that since the movie had the likes of Alan Arkin and Christopher Lee on the cast list, then it couldn't be all bad.

But early on in the movie, as they started to break out into singing and dancing, I started to lose interest in the movie. I am not overly keen on musicals, and I didn't know that director Philippe Mora's 1983 movie "The Return of Captain Invincible" was a musical. So this was a swing and a miss in terms of entertaining me.

Sure, the acting performances in the movie were adequate, but since the movie failed to capture my interest and the singing and dancing made whatever interest dwindle with each minute, then this movie didn't cut it for me.

The costumes and props in this movie were fairly cheesy and campy.

My rating of "The Return of Captain Invincible" lands on a three out of ten stars.

A Comedic Take On Superheroes That For the Most Part Works

[FilmFreak94 · 7/10 · 14 August 2012]

This is a movie I've been looking for for over a year now but it's impossible to find almost anywhere. Thankfully I got my chance just recently. Reading some of the reviews I was worried that it wouldn't appeal to me at all, but when I finally got around to watching it I thought it was pretty good.

The plot centers around a washed up superhero from World War II times named Captain Invincible. In the peak of his career he's accused of being a communist by the American govt. and disappears off the face of the Earth. Unbeknownst to him he flies all the way to Australia where he spends a good thirty years drinking away his sorrows. But when a hypno- ray is stolen from the Australian govt. and the President of the U.S.A. is called in he suggests they call upon Captain Invincible. Eventually a policewoman named Patty finds him and convinces him to put on the cape, clean up his act, and save the world. So basically think something along the lines of Watchmen and Hitchcock but a lot less serious.

The source of the trouble is the Captain's old enemy Mr. Midnight. And he's got something big planned for the minorities of the world.

The plot isn't much but it's not trying to be groundbreaking so it's not too cheesy. The film takes a more satirical look on the Superhero genre and is kind of ahead of its time. It was released two or three years before Watchmen and long before The Incredibles. If it were released today it might have been a success. But I can see why people aren't that big on the film. The pacing is a little slow and the plot sort of resolves itself without any real conflict and there are a few stereotypical jokes in there but nothing outright racist or hateful.

But the jokes that work really do work. Granted the movie never reached 'laugh out loud, fall out of my chair hilarious' status but I was chuckling for a good eighty percent of the film. Two scenes that stand out are a scene where the Cap and Patty go investigate a Vacuum shop. No joke, the vacuums come alive and start trying to kill them. It's hilarious seeing them fight the things and even the obvious "this sucks" joke is pulled off pretty well. Another is when they're at the Deli and the patron literally takes a fish and starts shooting bullets out of it. The following duel is glorious to behold.

Unusual for the genre this movie is one of the only Superhero-Musical films. And the songs are pretty good. While some of them are too short to be really memorable they're all pretty catchy and have a nice tune to them. The best is probably a song sung by the main villain titled "Name Your Poison." Really... that song is what made me watch this movie. It is that epic. Alcohol jokes and visual gags galore in this spectacle of a number. Really if nothing else watch the movie for that one scene.

The two main actors, Alan Arkin and Sir Christopher Lee each give a respectable performance as Captain Invincible and Mr. Midnight respectively. They're both very talented singers and each bring charm into the movie. To me Christopher Lee is epic in whatever he does but his performance in this movie is reminiscent to a James Bond villain (and he did play one actually). Alan Arkin also does a good job portraying a guy at the end of his rope trying hard to believe in old fashioned American values. And the supporting cast are all pretty good too.

Overall this film won't please everyone. If you're into tongue-in-cheek movies then this film will probably appeal to you but if not you should probably skip it. But after searching for it for a good year and more I can honestly say it wasn't a disappointment for me. It's not the best film ever made but its catchy songs, cheesy gags and Christopher Lee will keep me watching again for a good while.

DC comics meets the Rocky Horror Show

[Shrike-10 · 9/10 · 15 May 1999]

The US government's latest secret weapon is stolen, and the only man who can find it is an alcoholic ex-superhero. Captain Invincible returned to obscurity in his native Australia after a nasty run in with HUAC...

Captain Invincible is a hilarious, rock-opera parody of DC/Marvel superhero comics. To give away too much of the ridiculously ramshackle plot would be to spoil it, but you suspect this film was inspired by Christopher Lee's lament that he never starred in a musical comedy.

Lee steals the film as the dastardly arch-villain Mr. Midnight, belting out his numbers in a fine bass-baritone, as scantily clad slave girls massage his jodhpured thighs. Unforgettable.

Strangeness that not many have seen

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 30 November 2017]

Captain Invincible helped win World War 2 but couldn't survive the McCarthy hearings. Angry that his country turned its back on him, he moved to Australia and became a drunk. Thirty years later, Mr. Midnight, his greatest villain, comes back and steals the hypno ray. The U.S. government now needs the Captain back. But is he even interested?

Directed by Philippe Mora (Mad Dog Morgan, The Beast Within, Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf), this Australian super hero comedy musical is a lost film. It never played in U.S. theaters due to Jensen Farley Pictures (who also distributed Chained Heat, Curtains, The Boogens and more) going out of business, but it was released on video. It also bombed really badly in Australia, so it's not a film that anyone thinks about.

It's a strange bird, a mix of pathos at times (the idea of superheroes being forced to retire because of the McCarthy hearings was first done in 1979's JSA stories in Adventure Comics and 1985's America vs. the Justice Society) and musical scenes, featuring three songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show team of Richard O'Brien and Richard Hartley,

Starring Alan Arkin as the Captain and Christopher Lee as Mr. Midnight, the film really explores how a superhero would have to relearn his powers after decades of alcohol abuse, as well as how a supervillain would really operate in the modern world. It was written by Andrew Gaty, Peter Smalley (Dead End Drive-In) and Steven de Souza (Commando, Bad Dreams, Die Hard, Hudson Hawk, 48 Hours and many more).

The black and white sequences were my favorite parts of the film, showing how Captain Invincible gave up being a hero and how he got his powers. The music is pretty interesting, particularly Lee's explanation of how there was evil before there was humanity. Also, I love Mr. Midnight's sidekick, Julius, who looks like a naked human horse person.

Also of note, there's a scene where vacuum cleaners attack our hero. The scene made so little sense, the original pick for Captain Invincible, James Coburn (Derek Flint from In Like Flint and Our Man Flint) dropped out of the movie!

Read more at http://bit.ly/2BuJ1hb

Classic Camp Superhero Fun

[labcoatman · 8/10 · 13 September 1999]

I first saw this film when I was but a young lad, and loved it - the fact that some of the film was set in Australia played something of a major part in this - although some bits frightened me for no apparent reason. On repeated viewings, however, I have to say the film still holds up in the manner it was intended: over the top, extremely silly, fun.

The casting is superb; Christopher Lee and Alan Arkin skine, and I'm one Australian who wouldn't have minded seeing Graham Kennedy as the real Prime Minister...

Although they're quite well written - the "Hypno-Ray" song still sticks in my memory - the songs do seem a bit out of place, but when you're watching the story of an alcoholic ex-superhero who's retired to Australia, well... Frankly I think the sillier the better!

Alan Arkin - always all you need to know

[johnbmoore-17 · 7/10 · 4 August 2023]

Well, that was a wild and interesting ride. What a strange movie. But as you would - or should - expect, Alan Arkin makes everything okay. This mix of comedy, adventure, camp, and musical is supremely odd, but so funny. Richard O'Brien co-wrote a few of the songs and there are definite flashes back to Rocky Horror. Parts of it feel like his version of Dr. Strangelove. Christopher Lee is perfectly over-the-top as the mad villain, and his musical numbers are incredibly fun - thanks in part to the dance troupe that accompanied him. And Alan Arkin applies his gift for taking a simple line and making it something special. A cult classic is what it is and should be.

Utterly dopey and still a lot of fun.

[jonathancanucklevine · 7/10 · 18 August 2022]

There's not a lot I can add to the other reviews except to say that you're going find all kinds of screwy references thrown into the mix. Right off the top, when the president appears with his cadre of staff, you get the prominent Coke machine and general with the metal hand. Tell me both of those aren't nods to Dr. Strangelove.

An outsider view of Namerican culture

[cocorey · 9/10 · 27 January 2007]

This movie is an excellent parody which explains why some viewers may find it distasteful or cheesy. It is an Australian and not a NAmerican movie, and given that NAmerican culture is so widely exported it is natural that other nations will try to interpret it and to comment on the same, although from their own idiosyncratic point of view, and nobody is more idiosyncratic than the Australians. Yes, it is low budget, and often simplistic, and the ending is predictable, as NAmerica so often is itself. However the fallen hero, redemption through the intervention of a loyal companion whose faith renews his own, the battle not so much against evil as against his own weakness (the mai-tai scene is sublime), all of these are the ingredients of every epic story from Ragnarok to Superman. I recommend an open mind and a mellow drunk or similar to watch this absurd gem.

It all started here

[zordmaker · 9/10 · 19 April 2013]

I was a princely 13 when this film was made. Fortunately my first viewing was on television. The second time around I took the decency to make a VHS recording of it which still survives in digital form today. Thanks goodness I did.

That's because there's actually several versions of this film out there. There's the original cinematic version, then a DVD (which is very close to the original) and then there's the TV version that I've got (which was actually created in 1982 and is very different, especially the vastly superior soundtrack).

The TV version is the best - by far - and also the hardest to find.

This film was made by the Sydney film making clan in it's childhood years. Take a look at the surnames in the production credits and compare these to something made in Sydney 15 years later. You'll see similar surnames and different first names everywhere. Such is the nepotism that was the Sydney film scene in that era.

Much of the film was made on location at the (then only recently decommissioned) White Bay Power station. Magic moments abound in this film. Snapshots of a forgotten Sydney that range from musical interludes aboard a red rattler (complete with open doors). Production stories abound. Many from Art Dept Elex Graham Beatty who worked on this film and tells of many tales most should not hear! We can watch today and wonder how much of that liquor was real (likely 100%) and how much made it out of White Bay at the end of the production (likely less than 5%). Such was Sydney in the Eighties.

More than anything, "Return of Captain Invincible" is a fantastic hoot as well as a snapshot in history. It's long been my overall favourite Aussie film - and that includes the ones I worked on.

Watch it from end to end and if you need to, have some alcohol handy! ZM

Funny, can make one loose track of what they are doing, even pain!

[rp-mccann · 10/10 · 17 June 2009]

This is my kind of movie, I had never heard of it before, and only found it due to a purchase I made from Amazon, noticed this title as well. I am in chronic pain, and take advantage of any distraction from reality to take my mind off it. This movie did just that! On par with Attach of the killer tomato's, killer clowns form outer space, rocky horror picture show. Just as corny as any of them, This is well worth enjoying, laughing over, and forgetting your everyday worries and care for awhile. God Bless Mr Arkin to not have any pride when he made this film (I don't see how he could have, such a big gamble) But then again I had not heard of it until a couple weeks ago. Mr Allen Arken does provide his high quality of humor to this film. As usual his humor has again occurred before its time.