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Film (1982). Willarra/Seven Keys. Directed by Philippe Mora. Written by Steven E De Souza, Andrew Gaty; additional dialogue Peter Smalley. Cast includes Alan Arkin, Kate Fitzpatrick and Christopher Lee. 91 minutes. Colour.
Australian musical comedy whose premise is that its eponymous Superhero (Arkin), purged in the USA of the McCarthy period as "a premature anti-fascist", is now a washed-up drunk. Discovered in Sydney by policewoman Patty Patria (Fitzpatrick), he is recalled to confront his nemesis Mr Midnight (Lee), whose evil plan is first to sell housing developments to non-Whites in New York, then nuke them and make the city all-White. Much of the humour comes from Captain Invincible's forgetting how to fly, and suffering low self-esteem that affects his supermagnetic powers. As a spoof movie The Return of Captain Invincible is likeable, and genre-literate in the range of sf motifs it hits off; the songs are unmemorable. Arkin's muted, depressive performance, reminiscent of something from a Barry N Malzberg novel, contrasts nicely with Lee going over the top. [PN]
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Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 11:55 am on 20 April 2024.
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