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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:16
Rotten:13
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: This quirky indie comedy's low budget is readily apparent, but it's elevated by Michael Rapaport's dedicated performance.
Synopsis: Les Franken (MICHAEL RAPAPORT) is a kind-hearted and soft-spoken man who loves reading comic books. He’s the type of guy who most people walk by on the street without even noticing; in essence,... [More]
Starring: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker
Director: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore
Rappaport's befuddled sincerity has never registered so poignantly, but given its singular premise, for the film to waste an easy opportunity to satirize vigilante do-goodery and pharmaceutical dependence is, well, villainous.
Thanks to Rapaport's brio in embracing the hero's drug-induced delusions, the movie is less a failure than a noble experiment gone awry.
The premise is intriguing, and the film is occasionally amusing, but it feels stuck between a completely satirical farce and an aching drama.
Special offers a unique spin on the superhero template but rarely soars beyond its sly premise.
The sight of him, bloodied but eternally unbowed, in his ridiculous, homemade superhero costume may indeed be totally iconic for true pulp believers.
What begins as a mildly amusing indie lark descends into a depressingly unappealing exercise in mico-budget filmmaking.
Rappaport does a yeoman's job in this tonally confused oddity.
Special is an inexplicable downer that favors pathos over satire.
Ultimately it adds little to our understanding of the curious return of the superhero as our paradigmatic pop archetype.
Top CriticThis fantasy battle between good and evil is merely a cute, minor idea with little depth and even less conscious purpose, fit for a 15-minute short rather than a feature-length narrative.
It's a tonally uncertain, unsatisfying muddle.
Top CriticSpecial enjoyably toys with some knockabout comedy until it begins to take itself too seriously.
Top CriticEccentric, depressing thriller won't grab teens' attention.
Shot for pennies -- a cash limitation that benefits the production's creativity and credibility -- this haunting film keeps shifting the ground under our feet
I just thought it was a cool indie film with a great leading performance from an actor we don’t usually get to see in a lead.
It may not be perfect, but this under-the-radar indie from Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore is smart enough to leave you glad you found it.
A great genre film dissects authentic problems without attempting to supplant them. Reasonably enough, Special belongs to that category with the rest of Magnet’s Six Shooter Series.
A beautiful metaphor for the desperate need to be important in a world where we rarely make personal connections any more, Special deserves to be seen.
A good narrative feature with elements of comedy and drama, giving character actor Michael Rapaport a chance to really shine in a complex lead role.
Genuinely original in parts but this works as a comedy only in places.
Top Critic
November 27, 2008:
Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again. 
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November 14, 2008:
Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again.
More...
November 03, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
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January 26, 2006:
SUNDANCE: Weinberg's Sundance Scorecard
With Senh, Jen, and Terrible Tim Ryan roaming the streets of Park City, the Tomato readers have had plenty of Sundance reports to pick through. But I thought I'd contribute my... More...
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