The Hyperions (2022) User Reviews

It's okay, but wouldn't watch again.

[calebtla · 5/10 · 11 March 2022]

The acting and props were fine for the budget available. The problem in the movie is it really seemed unsure of what it wanted to be. One moment the movie would feel like it wanted to be a comedy, which is where it was the best. The problem is it would suddenly go from a comedy to a family drama. Which can work but the character me needed to be better developed which the movie did not have time to do.

It felt like there was a much larger story to tell, but they did not have the time or budget to tell it. So it is not a bad movie to watch, but I would not recommend this as a feature to subscribe to the daily wire and watch.

More family dramedy than superhero film, The Hyperions marks a solid feature debut for John McDonald

[IonicBreezeMachine · 6/10 · 11 March 2022]

In the 1960s Professor Ruckus Mandulbaum (Cary Elwes) created a revolutionary device known as a Titan Badge which tapped into its users DNA in order to unlock superpowers. Using his technology and resources, Ruckus scoured the world looking for orphans to adopt who he would raise as his family and mold them into a superhero team called the Hyperions. Now 1979, former Hyperion Vista (Penelope Mitchell) and her adoptive brother/ fellow former Hyperion Ansel (Alphonso McAuley) are estranged from their surrogate family and are now robbing the Hyperion Family Museum to steal the Titan Badges from the display case only to learn their secured with Ruckus' fingerprints. With no viable options Vista and Ansel take some hostages ending up in a standoff with the police and demand Ruckus come to the museum to unlock the badges. Meanwhile Ruckus and veteran Hyperion Maya (Elaine Tan) are dealing with recruitment of the third generation of Hyperions as well as retirement of the second all while trying to maintain the family's PR façade.

The Hyperions has had a long journey to distribution. Filmed and completed in 2019, the movie comes to us from Jon McDonald who's a relatively new director having directed the short film Chagrin as well as narrative feature Muddy Corman which appears to have never been released beyond the festival circuit. Picked up for distribution by Saban Films for a 2020 release, distribution stalled for unknown reasons and Saban eventually sold the rights to Bonfire Legend who in turn sold them Daily Wire in 2022 a full three years after the movie was finished. Taking the fact that Daily Wire is distributing this film out of the equation, The Hyperions is a solid film from a newish director with a promise of better things to come.

I will say that The Hyperions feels very reminiscent of the TV series The Umbrella Academy down to the mad scientist patriarch and the dysfunctional family of superhero children. Given The Umbrella Academy was filmed in 2018 and released in February of 2019 and The Hyperions was filmed in the Fall and Winter of 2019 it leads me to believe there was more than a little inspiration from that series on this film. With that said I think the movie does make itself unique through use of its period setting taking place in the late 70s in "present" and 60s in flashbacks and McDonald does a solid job of capturing the feel for those eras. I particularly enjoyed the usage of older animation styles used for certain expository scenes and the in-universe TV show featuring The Hyperions that has a very Wonderful World of Disney type vibe to the production which fits well with world the movie creates.

Cary Elwes is really good as Professor Ruckus Mandulbaum and plays the role like a mixture of Walt Disney and Dr. Charles Xavier. It's a solid performance that allows Elwes to balance the high camp with scenes of genuine family drama and there are moments of genuine heartbreak in the movie that resonate quite well. Penelope Mitchell also does quite well in the role of Vista, Ruckus' estranged adopted daughter and their dynamic that was shaped by the very public and controlled life she had that led to her having a rebellious streak and Ruckus' need to protect his legacy and image felt well-constructed and thematically rich. I also rather liked Alphonso McAuley as Vista's adoptive brother Ansel who's torn by being the "good son" and trying to support his sister despite orders of his father and the PR team to sever all ties with her which lead to him being estranged from his father and losing his position as a Hyperion.

Now there are some missteps the movie takes and they do make themselves hard to ignore. One of the major missteps taken is in a character who turns out to be (predictably) evil and their heel turn is handled pretty clumsily with only one scene to establish who they are which leads to the unveiling feeling very hollow with an air of "so what?". There are also points where the budgetary restraints make themselves pretty hard to ignore with a scene in the climax set up only to happen completely off camera feeling like a massive cheat to the audience, yes this is a low budget independent production, but they probably could've animated it or given us some comic book style stills to give us something. While watching The Hyperions I was reminded of another retro-sci-fi dramedy from about 10 years ago called Space Station 76 that billed itself as an homage to things like Space: 1999 only to end up being a social satire of the 70s that just happened to take place in space. There's a lot of overlap between Space Station 76 and The Hyperions and for me personally I liked how they took these extraordinary settings and made character pieces, but if you go in expecting strong superheroics you're going to be disappointed. Even the standoff between Vista and Ansel isn't played for tension as the hostages are pretty happy most of the movie and treat the situation as a minor inconvenience while being polite and cordial to their captors.

There's some solid work on display in The Hyperions from both director Jon McDonald and its solid cast. The movie looks really nice capturing the color pallet and aesthetic of the 60s and 70s and the family drama is rich and well conveyed by Cary Elwes, Penelope Mitchell, and Alphonso McAuley. What doesn't work as well is in the very budget conscious approach to the filmmaking with major sequences taking place entirely off camera and a rather underwhelming villain reveal. Despite these drawbacks, The Hyperions is a solid showcase of McDonald's talents as a filmmaker and I look forward to whatever he does next.

this is a dumb movie

[curtispeace · 4/10 · 13 March 2022]

Some movies don't really take off and don't really go anywhere, it's like the director is experimenting or thinks all their ideas are so cool or so cute... not!

Super Zeros

[iamkrause · 3/10 · 11 March 2022]

I saw the trailer and thought, "Oh, this looks fun."

I was wrong. It was really boring. I didn't care about any of the characters. The extremely limited super hero scenes were super cheap looking. I enjoyed the 70s aesthetics but that wasn't enough to carry the film. Especially considering that most of the movie took place in one room.

A lot of the reviews here feel the need to mention "The Daily Wire" being involved with this movie. That should neither be a pro nor a con. This movie sucked, and it doesn't matter who made it or why. If you like watching spoiled children complain about how much of a douche their father is (and he is), you'll love this movie. Because that's all it is. Anyone who gave this movie a 10 is lying.

An hour and a half ill never get back

[asfunnyboy98 · 2/10 · 21 November 2022]

This was a terrible movie. Plain and simple. Idk if they were trying to be funny or dramatic or what, but I gave the whole movie a shot and I should have trusted my gut to turn it off. Simply don't waist your time with this garbage. A simple YouTuber could have better effects then this movie did. The blood was so clearly fake. All the special effects were what made this so cheesy for me. There was not enough build up for the characters. I couldn't relate to any of them. The animation in the show made it that much worse. They were better off not using animation at all. The ending was so predictable. Please don't bother with this dumpster fire.

Cary Elwes is great in this terrible movie.

[RT Firefly · 6 April 2022]

Cary Elwes is one of those guys that everytime you see him in something you ask yourself, "I love this guy, why don't I see him in more stuff?" That definitely applies here. Though the movie itself is fairly awful, it may be worth checking out just to watch Elwes. Director Jon McDonald misses bigtime with his sophomore outing in a very poor, all style and no substance movie that might be excellent for all audiences, content wise, but I doubt anyone would stick around past the first half hour to see how it ends. The hubris for an inexperienced director to try such an ambitious project from the super hero genre with such a small budget was where things first went wrong. McDonald tries to make up for it with cool photography and other tricks, borrowing styles from the likes Wes Anderson, but the end result only underscores how bad the script is (written by the director, naturally). There is no story to follow, no character development, no amazing special effects, and much more (less?). Outside of Elwes, nobody in the cast does anything worth watching. In fact, the only other character I found at all interesting was a fat security guard that only had a few lines. I gave this movie 4 stars because of Elwes, otherwise it would get a 3.

I just want to be honest

[skhargett · 2/10 · 11 March 2022]

It's not good. I support the Daily Wire and what they're trying to do, but they'll never succeed unless they raise their standard. This movie is sadly stagnate and not funny. There are a few good ideas but they aren't played with any real artistry or talent. The quirkiness is hollow and the positive themes get lost in the lazy jumble of cheap filmmaking. I wasn't expecting brilliancy. I was just hoping for a fun time. I was still disappointed.

Witty, visually unique, and heartfelt

[benjaminskylerhill · 7/10 · 12 March 2022]

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.

Poor, Amateur Execution of a Good Concept.

[WatchAndSmile · 3/10 · 22 April 2022]

I was looking forward it. Trailer implied comedy, drama and action. Yet, there's very little comedy, no action and a sad drama. Poor boring story. 0 character development. The most likeable character is the fat security guard. Couldn't care less about the rest.

The movie felt as a theater production play and was an amateur one too. This could've been amazing with a few simple addition to the story, yet as is, this is 3/10 and I am being generous by giving it 3/10, which all goes to the cast.

Barely watchable

[chukkagirl13 · 2/10 · 11 March 2022]

I respected the Daily Wire enough to be excited about another new release. When I watched the trailers for the this film, they didn't grab me but I thought, "well, maybe I'm not catching the gist of this film and it's funnier than it looks."

Sadly, no. There are clever elements like the throwback Disney educational films I remember watching as a kid, and the whole retro look of the film. Cary Elwes' character was acted well. And some of the quirky characters in the museum had a ton of comedy potential. But this is a movie that seems to be trying to be a Wes Andersen film, with only a smidge of the humor. The characters really never got developed past the paper doll stage. I smiled a handful of times, but most of the time I kept wondering where this was going - not in a good way.

They should have gone full comedy with a heartwarming backstory/ending, but instead the whole thing falls flat. I slogged through it to see how it ended, but would never watch it again.

Great surprise

[[e-mail] · 8/10 · 11 March 2022]

Frankly I can't stand superhero movies anymore. They're dopey and hollow. The Hyperions, despite capes and powers, is not a superhero movie. It's a movie about family and friends, about how power corrupts and distorts, and above all else about how integrity and good values always end up being worth more than power, fame, money, and privilege. It's not dopey, it's not hollow. It's charming, funny, and very touching.

I didn't really know what I was in for and what I got was a truly great surprise.

Interesting, But Needs Work.

[hunterwatkins-41553 · 7/10 · 11 March 2022]

The story of the movie takes a unique approach to the superhero genre. So much so that it almost doesn't feel like a superhero movie.

The set design is fun, and really leans into a 50's/60's era esthetic. Props on the other hand look cheap, as if they were plastic toys, however they are charming and remind me of something from the old power rangers show.

The acting is unfortunately the weakest part of the film. They actors feel like they are trying, but their direction is off. The delivery on most of the jokes don't quite hit the mark. Not terrible, but it certainly isn't amazing.

I personally liked this movie for all of its strange quirks, but I certainly can understand how a others might have a harder time liking it.

Even as a Daily Wire fan... Don't watch this

[nathanielneubert · 3/10 · 11 March 2022]

I went into this movie hoping it would be good. Clinging onto hope that it would at least be decent. Long story short, it fell short.

I don't know much what to tell you as far as the genre of the film, it wasn't a comedy because it didn't have humor. It wasn't a drama because that requires characters and acting. It wasn't an action movie because nothing happened. It is best described as a movie where I guess eventually some things happen.

Every member of the cast could be described as incompetent at best. I couldn't identify a single intelligent character in the show. We want movies that pit powerful minds against each other not a few people whose brains barely functioning with motives we don't understand mucking about in a museum lobby for an hour and a half. That brings me to my second issue, the pacing. The pacing is dreadfully slow. Almost nothing happens in the first 40 minutes. By that time our two characters haven't moved from inside the museum and are still just hanging around with their hostages who are passing the time playing board games. The main reason for this terrible pacing is the exposition dumping. To explain every little thing, they give a long drawn out video explaining it as if we were a child.

Worth a watch if you aren't paying

[JCinHB · 5/10 · 15 July 2022]

Very odd, weird, interesting movie. This is something much different than we are used to seeing. Its a 'Super Hero" movie, but not really. Its more about the family of the super hero's.

Without giving any of the story away, this is more about the family of the super hero's than any action. So if you are thinking bombs and explosions etc, ain't happening.

This is a slower movie about the characters, not the action.

I would not be happy paying to see this in a theater, but was amused seeing it at home for free. Accept it for what it is and enjoy a movie based in the 60's early 70's and get your popcorn, relax and enjoy.

Funny, when the main character is talking on the phone, you can see the phone number and its for LA... and why is this rated R?? There was nothing to make this even a PG-13.. more like a PG movie.

The Yawnperions - A Nice Attempt

[Argyle302 · 6/10 · 11 March 2022]

OK for a movie that is basically a "one-man band" flick by the director John MacDonald. But most of it falls flat, and is mostly boring. I wish I could give it a better rating, since it's one of the first movie attempts by The Daily Wire, but I have to be honest here. Maybe next time they can produce a movie that is a little bit better than this. I like Cary Elwes , but unfortunately he put the dull in Mandullbaum here.

Why is this rated R?

[nathanholt-67152 · 2/10 · 26 May 2023]

Ive seen pg rated movies with more violence, profanity and sexual references. This should be rated g if it wasnt for all the pointless language.

The entire film is incredibly lackluster. I checked the play time after what felt like over an hour and it was only 38 minutes into the film.

Carry Elwes. Was the only slightly decent thing in the entire film.

The score was just awful and came in and out at the most random times.

The action sequences looked like there was very little effort put in. Ive seen 12 year olds make better action videos for youtube on a single sunday afternoon.

The story was incredibly predictable and lacked substance.

The comedy was very little and spread out, barely noticeable and mostly cringy. It felt like it was made for very small kids but was drawn out to fill a run time.

It'll grow on you

[animalvader-91691 · 6/10 · 3 May 2022]

As a superhero movie, one would expect this to be action packed and loaded with special effects, however it is not. Instead, we were presented with an artistic film which goes very deep into not only the family dynamic of the team, but also the pressures of being in the public limelight. This is a film that is very character driven, which is something that I wasn't expecting from the trailer.

The "superhero" aspect of this film is entirely used as an excuse to tell the story of the individual characters, and that is something I am very familiar with having been a comic book fan of 40 years. To put it in perspective, read any typical story from the 1960's Amazing Spider-Man. Sure, we get to see Spider-Man battle Doc Ock, but the real stories in the issues involved Peter Parker's love life, his sickly Aunt May, trying to pay bills as a freelance photographer, being socially awkward, etc. When you look at this film in that context, I don't think it's a coincidence that it's a period piece that takes place in the mid 80's with flashbacks to the 60's and 70's.

All in all, I feel this film was enjoyable, and will most likely become even more so with future viewings. In other words, I think it'll grow on you the more you watch it.

Very cheaply made...with no budget to put to a great script to compensate.

[JustSayingKOA · 2/10 · 23 April 2022]

Not what you expect from a superhero movie...at all. Reminds me of the show the Umbrella Academy just with a much much much smaller budget. God, even their costumes look cheaper then a store bought one from Walmart on the clearance rack. Maybe it was a throw back to the super hero tv shows of the 60's but it looked like it was intentional to hide the fact their budget was so low all the actors were doing it for free for the exposure. I think I almost fell asleep several times watching it...probably best to avoid this one.

The New James Gunn?

[xtidusxyunax · 8/10 · 11 March 2022]

This came out of nowhere, but you got a great cast with great performances.

For Jon McDonald's more or less first bigger release I enjoy his style, it reminds me of James Gunn's early work, so looking forward to whatever he does next.

Really enjoyed my time with these character and would like to see something more in this universe.

I like the throwback to something older.

A well executed try

[adamchidester · 7/10 · 17 June 2022]

It's decent. Give it a watch.

Pros: -Funny at times, some gags made me laugh out loud -very unique and original, I've never seen a movie like this -interesting style, feels like this was made in the 70's and I love the animated bits. Very clever and they look great.

Cons: -cheesy at times, the action looks cheesy and could use some better choreography -budget, obviously this isn't a Hollywood movie but they did the best with what they had. A lot of the movie pulls off the low budget quite well, but the action scenes are where it shows the most

Summary: It's a very unique movie with a lot of potential. I love the director's style and it truly is an original and unique movie.

A Confused Mess of a Film...

[onekingprods-54469 · 1/10 · 14 March 2022]

As a subscriber to The Daily Wire and as someone who was very impressed with Shut In, I was looking forward to a fun family-friendly superhero movie with a retro-feel the way Ben and the gang were describing it. Sadly, it was not that.

This movie is NOT what the trailer made it out to be. It's not an action film, it's not a drama, and it's not a comedy. It's a confused amalgam of all 3 that never succeeds in actually entertaining. Mitchell is a good lead and Elwes creates a whimsical character for himself, but the story and pacing sunk the movie.

As for the touted retro feel, they tried for that but didn't capture it. They tried to use musical pieces that harken back to the 50's Disney cartoons, yet this was supposed to take place in 1979. So the attempt to make this a throwback to some other time in the past also winds up feeling unfocused.

I guess in the end, that's the word to sum up the Hyperions...unfocused. Too bad. The concept is a cool one, but they just had no idea how to execute it.

Don't fall asleep!

[scottmclennan-73182 · 1/10 · 17 March 2022]

Terrible slow movie with b grade acting.

Very little in the way of substance and action was atrocious. I think the reviewers that gave it 10 out of 10 have no lives . At the end of the day it's your choice watch this mess.

Misleading/Not good

[jeremyfirestaff · 1/10 · 11 March 2022]

I was interested in seeing this because it looked as though it was going to be a lighthearted comedy. Boy, was I mistaken. It was actually a very serious movie trying to be a comedy and it simply doesn't work. It's actually quite dark and creepy at times. I wouldn't ever watch this again.

Amateurish attempt at a superhero movie that doesn't land any punches

[dbvickoren · 2/10 · 11 March 2022]

I really wanted to like this movie. I firmly support the Daily Wire, and applaud their efforts to make movies outside the woke influence of Hollywood. The trailers for this movie presented what looked to be an offbeat comedy. Unfortunately, they put every funny moment (and even created a couple by stringing together unrelated scene components) into the trailers. This movie was not a comedy at all. It also wasn't really a superhero movie. The only visuals of superhero action consisted of Maya teleporting around while she beats up and eventually appears to shoot to death a band of thugs. The big showdown with the villain occurs off-camera! You see them facing off, cut to outside the building where they hear shooting and the police act stupid, then it cuts back inside to show the aftermath. Then you get this weird almost threatening scene with the main bad guy that again is resolved off-screen. This rips off your viewers, and annoys critical viewers.

I had talked this movie up to my family on the appearance of the trailers and the quality that went into the last movie DW made, Shut-In, which was very very good. Halfway through this movie, I was feeling embarrassed to be showing it to them. It wasn't funny at all. The drama in it was contrived and cliché. The two actresses playing Vista did a good job. The actress playing Maya did a good job. The part of Ansel needed better development, but the adult actor playing him did what he could with it. Cary Elwes phoned this one in. It looked like he thought he was doing an improv acting class at a community center. The set pieces were very fake looking. The animation inserts were jarring and didn't make sense at times other than that they were trying to cover for the fact that they couldn't make believable cgi for the cheap animatronic eagle telephone thing. The whole movie came off looking like what I would expect from a first year film school student who doesn't show a lot of promise.

It's sad, I really wanted to like this movie...

Genuine fun but doesn't quite hit the mark

[jordanclowrey · 7/10 · 11 March 2022]

The Hyperions is a clear vision from one mind in writer/director Jon McDonald that I want to see more of in the future. There's genuine laughs and heart throughout this superhero/family dynamic that only an indie director could bring with obvious limitations in financing.

Set in the '70s with pseudo-nostalgia, The Hyperions tells a tale of two former superheroes robbing a museum containing their "titan badges" that grant them their powers. However, things don't go to plan, motivations are unclear, and people from the past will be needed to solve the problematic situation. A tale told through flashbacks and stylized animation, pinpoint editing, and the language of film that has been forgotten recently in favor of "exposition through dialogue" and voiceover, Jon McDonald proves to be a director to watch for in the future.

The technicals (5 possible stars) Directing: 1

• A clear vision and style that can't be overlooked, McDonald's vision is present throughout the film

Acting: .5

• Cary Elwes and Penelope Mitchell give outstanding performances but Elaine Tan and other minor characters drag down the performances; most notably in waiting on other actors to finish their line to continue their dialogue rather than performing in tandem.

Writing: .5

• A good story that gets a little sloppy towards the end and truly doesn't get the emotional feel it's going for. Honestly felt that a longer runtime would've helped.

Editing: 1

• Wonderfully edited. Fun animations that fit the overall style and clear cuts with purpose.

Cinematography: .5

• Overall good, but there were very few jarring handheld shots that were obvious "oops but we got a good take anyway" moments.

Personal score out of five: 3

• I genuinely laughed along with the film when it was trying to be funny and I loved the style. I just wish that it either got the heartfelt moments it wanted to achieve or go all in on the humor; trying to do both with such a short runtime didn't work fully to me.

So all-in-all it was a 6.5/10, it's closer to a 7 than a 6 for me.