by Ed Travis
On the one hand, superhero tales have reached a cultural saturation point. On the other hand, I pulled the trigger on watching They Call Me Jeeg Robot precisely because there’s still an innate desire in me to see and respond to riffs on superhero cinema. I still tend to watch them all, even if the unchecked growth of the genre is becoming oppressive. The four quadrant sanitization of super heroes has become a big problem for me. Though the films are entertaining and maybe even faithful to the characters… there’s a safeness and inevitability to most superhero movies these days. It’s a homogenization process.
What superhero cinema really needs is a little weirdness; some unpredictability… and Italy has heard the call and responded with They Call Me Jeeg Robot. Imagine if Peter Parker, instead of being a genius with a good heart before getting bitten by that fateful spider, was in fact a bottom feeding loser and petty criminal addicted to pornography and vanilla pudding before gaining super powers after swimming in the Tiber River. That’s our protagonist Enzo (Claudio Santamaria). He’s a tough character to invest in as he’s devoid of redeeming qualities, but also quiet and unremarkable in every way. Yet Italian director Gabriele Mainetti seems to have this film well under control and makes sure the audience begins to feel for and invest in Enzo’s redemption. It’s a film that grows on you, much the way that the show-stealing female lead Alessia (Ilenia Pastorelli) does. She’s a traumatized adult living in a childish fantasy centered around an anime show called Jeeg. At first her character feels reductive but she grows to be the film’s beating heart and greatest strength. Her infantile fantasy world makes her both Quixote and Dulcinea, and it’s incredibly endearing. Pastorelli makes you believe in the relationship and sells Enzo’s redemption perhaps even better than Santamaria does.
Although it is off beat and brims with Italian character, the story still hits a lot of traditional notes. There’s an over the top villain obsessed with gaining the same powers as Enzo (and obsessed with YouTube). There are shots of Enzo discovering his powers. There’s even a shot of Enzo standing atop a building looking out over the city standing watch. But it’s the weird quirk and charm that work well in this film… that traditional stuff doesn’t brim with as much life.
The elements of sleaze and the performance of Pastorelli are the best elements of They Call Me Jeeg Robot. They serve to set the film apart from the mainstream superhero films from which it takes inspiration. It’s a pleasant enough diversion for those feeling that superhero fatigue but still desiring to engage with the genre.
And I’m Out.