Blake Van de graaf’s superhero opus is a cult film sadly without a cult, and that’s a pure crime of cosmic proportions. While his movie is very critically acclaimed, Van de graaf’s entry just doesn’t get enough love. Or more so, the love I think it warrants. Perhaps it’s just that audiences are burned out on superhero epics, but “Sidekick” really isn’t one of them. Most people will be quick to judge this movie on the cover, a one sheet that makes this look like a superhero comedy about a geek dressing in costumes to fight crime.
That’s not true. As it stands, “Sidekick” is a dark, violent, menacing, brutal, and awfully thrilling story, and it’s still one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen. It’s on my personal top ten without a doubt, up there with the likes of “Unbreakable” and “Superman II.” That’s because while this is a comic geek’s movie, it’s also more of an anti-superhero movie with a tale that begins as the molding of a great hero that then transforms into… well, let me put it this way: You’ve seen a lot of superhero movies where we learn about our masked avenger, but how many times do we learn the origin of a great villain?
Even more Van de graaf’s story is absolutely brilliant in that it only tells one side of the story. Do you know how in superhero movies when a villain is born, on the other side of the world their very nemesis fighting for good is born? Well, Van de graaf tells the villain’s story and leaves it up to us to decide if the character focused on in “Sidekick” will continue his reign of terror, or is waiting to be confronted by a powerful individual fighting for good. Van de graaf’s superhero film is quite excellent and avoids any of the superhero movie doldrums at every turn. The clichés are minimal, the acting is top notch, and the finale leaves so much on the table, that you’ll be mesmerized. What’s it about? You can just find out for yourself, because my words do it no justice. Van de graaf’s film needs-a-cult-audience, damn it!
Finally on an official DVD release, you have the chance to view his movie, along with a slew of extras. First and foremost there’s the commentary track with director Van de graaf, Writer/Producer Michael Sparaga, and most of the cast whom all deliver an energetic and fast paced audio commentary with some great interplay between the individuals on mic. Sparaga and Van de graaf often make the other cast members laugh, and Van de graaf is a very fast talking individual who speaks a mile a minute with Sparaga, and while it can tend to be chaotic at times, it’s a lot better than all of the other commentaries out there.
The cast and crew are very enthusiastic about their project and seem to revel in the task they’ve pulled off, and who can blame them, really? Writer Sparaga and Van de graaf take up most of the commentary trading stories and admiring the coincidences that contributed to the film’s quality, and thankfully what they say is very interesting and a strong glimpse at the ins and outs of independent filmmaking. There’s a quite funny two minute outtakes reel, and a ten minute deleted scenes feature where we watch alternate sequences for the opening establishing both characters.
As well, there’s also the cast interviews which is more of an interview with the respective stars who explain the experience working with Daniel Baldwin, being recognized by people after making the movie, and how they approached adding a different twist to the comic book movie. There’s also the original theatrical trailer, which is a hoot and works on the actual premise. Hell, anyone can watch a superhero movie, but how often can you watch something that takes the typical mold and completely turns it on its neck? “Sidekick” is that movie that flips the comic book origin story and is finally given a great DVD treatment. Seek it out, watch it, and thank me later.